The Roots of a Hero
by the reformist
Summary: The sequel to Secter and Tatsumaki! As Secter and Tatsumaki develop their relationship together and grow more intimate, a mysterious new antagonist enters the fray and starts to shake the OPM world to its core. Meanwhile, others like Saitama and Fubuki start to focus on their own issues even as the world begins to change. All feedback is welcome!
1. Chapter 1

"Multiple heroes dead, some injured, and an entire section of our building destroyed," said Sitch, while he eyed the room full of suited executives. "That was what that creature was capable of."

"Perhaps even more," said another executive, sitting down the way alongside an elongated wood table. "We weren't able to find its body for whatever reason, I assume that it was Tornado that took care of it…"

"It seems that way," said Sitch. "She was the first one on the scene, her and that stranger, what was his name again?"

"Secter," came an executive. "Bit of a nobody, was causing the heroes trouble for some time."

"I see," said Sitch. "Interesting. Well, in any case, we need to take a look at how this impacts our funding, and need to see if any of the heroes-"

"Are actually heroes at all?" came a voice from the darkened entrance to the room.

All the officials turned at the same time apart from Sitch, whose eyes widened as the new speaker strode into the lighting and came into focus.

"Hello everyone!" said Sycamore, leaning over the end of the table as several executives leapt back out of their chairs and away from his presence. "My name is Sycamore. I'm here to tell you why I'm the greatest investment on the market right now."

Looks of panic and shock were ensconced on everyone's faces. Before them stood Sycamore, towering over each person as his head neared the ceiling. The newcomer was a brimming stew of confidence, a glowing grin spread along his face coupled with rows of sharp black teeth. Shadowy skin almost made the being blend into the nearby darkness, but his slanted yellow eyes and mouth helped set him apart. He wore a dull silver suit with a black sweater underneath, just as slick as the sleazy expression he forced onto his audience. Gnarled dark horns jutted out from the back of his head, twisting and turning off into the air, while shadowy flames protruded out of his back flickered as if in response to some imaginary wind. Sycamore seemed to encompass the entire room, filling it up as if he were the only person in there despite having an audience of at least ten others. For whatever reason, despite the friendly expression on Sycamore's face, no one felt as if that were his true intent. Something about the way he moved and twisted towards the table as he walked screamed suspicion, but Sycamore was not the type to let people on to his real feelings so easily.

"You-" began Sitch, rising up from his seat. "How did you get in here? Where is security?"

"I let myself in," said Sycamore. "And I _am_ your security."

"He looks a bit like that officer," said an executive. "Someone call the heroes!"

"No one's coming," said Sycamore. "It's just us." He laid a hand down on the table before him, his grin widening even further at the terrified Hero Association officials. "And I'm only here to talk, nothing to worry about here."

No one seemed convinced.

"Well look, here's the deal," said Sycamore. He rose up, crossing his arms as he stared down at the cowering executives before him. "You own an association of heroes, right?"

A few small nods, a few people crawling under the table.

"And yet you still have a problem with monsters despite all this," said Sycamore. "Well lucky for you, I'm here to help. With your monster problem."

"Get out," said Sitch, the only one remaining to face Sycamore's grin. "We don't need your help."

"Ah ah ahhh," said Sycamore, waggling a finger at the irritated man. "But you _do._ And after all, you _should_ accept my help, right? Because I can tell you right now-"

Sycamore slithered across the table, his body turning into a snake of burning shadow as he crept up face-to-face with Sitch.

"I have the power to help," said Sycamore. He chuckled as Sitch stumbled back at the sudden advance.

"We have enough heroes here, we don't need one that comes in and threatens us!" yelled Sitch.

Sycamore laughed again, reforming himself back into his humanoid shape.

"No threats here, only promises," said Sycamore. "I'm going to start rounding up every monster, every creature, every mysterious being that poses a threat to mankind and I'm going to get rid of them. Easily. You should be thankful for my kind of help, I don't give that sort of thing out so carelessly."

Sitch crawled backwards until he hit a wall, his eyebrows furrowing at all the executives who were scrambling to escape the room in front of him. Sycamore paid them no mind.

"We…we don't know who you are," said Sitch. "Or what you're capable of. I don't trust you, and I don't want your help."

"Is it because you don't trust me," said Sycamore. "Or because you _need_ the monsters for your shitty little organization to stay afloat? Because oh no, what will happen if the monsters go away? No more funding for you or any of your little cronies. Say goodbye to your nice lifestyles and hello to more mundane work."

"We…we don't rely on monsters to exist…" said Sitch. "And…you can't go messing with things this way!"

"Really?" asked Sycamore. He twisted his body again and again, laughing as he did so. Looping around until his figure resembled a series of silver, shadowy loops, he tore himself back to his original form like a ripcord, his head snapping in place by the time he finished. His grin remained the whole time he moved.

"Because it seems to me," he continued. "That this sort of thing is regular hero work. I go out, help the people, destroy the monsters. Easy right? Why not just accept this? Is it because you're as corrupt and pathetic as I think you are?"

Sitch had no answer. The being in front of him was burning its way through his mind with its stare, glowing eyes inflaming his brain and shaking him to the core of his soul. Nonetheless, he would not give up the staring contest between him and the newcomer.

"Oh I know this organization was sad," said Sycamore. "But not _this_ sad. I mean come on, all your colleagues have abandoned you, you won't even accept my generously heroic offer, and your first issue that you brought up was funding as opposed to the wellbeing of the heroes in this past attack or whatever it was!"

"We…have our issues, but we still try-"

"Oh I know that. But the time for trying is past. Now is the time for action, and I, well I am the greatest actor on earth. I knew this wasn't an organization of heroes, you just feed off of their successes and hope that they never truly prevail."

"I want humanity to defeat the monsters, I just can't trust-"

"Then watch and learn, Mr. Sitch. And have a little chat with your shareholders sometime, because it seems that not everyone is concerned about the safety of others as you are."

Sycamore laughed again, all too pleased about the status of events. Then, he twisted up into the air, vanishing as he phased through the ceiling and out of sight of the trembling Sitch. The poor man was left alone in the meeting room, sweat beading down his forehead and a rising sense of dread swirling up from his bowels.

. . .

Secter nudged at Tatsumaki, who lay against him on the couch. Her eyes were heavy after getting up only an hour ago, and she squinted at the television with sleep on her mind. Secter smiled at her, his heart warming as her green curls unfurled over his chest.

"You want to get up yet?" he asked.

"Mmph," said Tatsumaki.

"You know I have to go get my stuff still," said Secter. "Probably should've done it yesterday, think it's supposed to rain today."

"Mmmmph."

"I gotta get up."

"Don't get up."

"Well, I'm going to."

"Don't leave. You don't get to leave yet."

Secter shook his head, his eyes rolling.

"Sometimes I think you're still a bit too possessive of me, Tatsu," said Secter.

"I just don't like the thought of losing you," said Tatsumaki, gripping him tighter.

Secter grimaced as her nails dug into the bandages beneath his shirt.

"You're not gonna lose me…" said Secter. He paused for a second, a realization coming together in his head. "Although…I can see why you'd be worried. Yeah, you got a point actually."

"See?" asked Tatsumaki. "I'm right. I'm always right."

Secter leaned down and kissed Tatsumaki on the forehead.

"Most of the time," said Secter as he pulled away. "But you are wrong about one thing, I'm gonna get up."

"Why?" asked Tatsumaki. She slid down onto the couch as Secter rose, lacking the energy to bring herself to a sitting position.

"Because there's still a bunch of shit at my house I have to bring over here," said Secter. "And if I want to move out, the landlord's sure as hell not going to want it there."

"Ugh," said Tatsumaki. "Can't you just teleport it over here?"

"I mean…yeah," said Secter. "But I could go for a walk anyways. Need to stretch my chest and legs out, been sitting and laying down for too long as is. Plus I gotta meet with my landlord one more time, good riddance."

"Fine," said Tatsumaki. "But hurry back."

"I will."

. . .

With a bag full of belongings in one hand, and an alien shotgun strapped over his back, Secter signed the last bit of paperwork needed to get him out of his old home and shook the hand of his irritable landlord as he got ready to leave the man's office. Heading out through the main door, Secter breathed in the frigid air as he wandered the streets, his expression pleased as he gave one last look in the direction of his old house.

 _Out with the old, in with the new,_ he thought.

Leaving the area, Secter strode past cafés and restaurants alike, until someone shouted his name from somewhere behind him. Turning around at the familiar voice, Secter's eyes widened when he spotted a man wielding a massive flail and a woman with a series of wriggling chains for arms running towards him.

"Rikuto?" he asked. "Mei?"

The power duo slammed into Secter, hugging him tight and nearly causing him to drop his belongings. Gripping onto the bag with one hand, he pulled the two into his body with the other, until they all finally separated from the embrace.

"How have you two been?" asked Secter. "I see Mei's gotten…creative."

"Yeah, that commandant tried to ruin things for us," said Mei. "For a lot of people, unfortunately."

"Yeah, and I'm really sorry about that," said Secter.

"Why are you apologizing?" asked Rikuto. "It's not your fault!"

"Yeah!" said Mei. "That villain went after a bunch of people, there was no way you could've caused all that!"

"Well…it's complicated," said Secter. "But I guess you're right. I didn't control that miserable pile of shit they call a man."

"Are you feeling any better?" asked Mei. "You looked real bad last we saw you."

"Yeah I'm alright," said Secter. "Tatsumaki probably saved my life."

"She seems to feel real deep for you," said Mei. She nudged Secter in the shoulder, giving him a small wink as she did so. "If I were you, I'd keep an eye on her."

Secter laughed.

"Yeah, I think I might do that," he said.

"You want to do some patrolling with us?" asked Rikuto. "We're out looking for monsters again."

"Already?" asked Secter. "You guys sure you're up to it?"

"Of course we are!" said Mei. "I mean…it's a bit lonelier without Ori, but we manage…"

"Yeah…" said Secter. "A damned shame about him…"

Rikuto shook his head. He kicked up some dust with his boot.

"Well, no sense standing around and moping," he said. "Let's get back to work honey."

"Sure thing!" said Mei. "And Secter, thanks."

"For what?" asked Secter.

"For taking down that evil commandant," said Mei. "Tornado told us it was you."

"Oh, uh, no problem," said Secter. "It was for the best it was me anyways."

A woman in a burly fur coat came running up to the trio, her eyes wide and panicky. Rikuto and Mei flipped around in response, while Secter eyed her warily.

"Monsters!" she yelled. "Right down the street! Three of them! Big!"

She huffed and puffed, failing to find the air to sustain her.

"Clear the area, citizen!" said Rikuto. "We have a job to do."

Mei glanced over at Secter.

"You want to come with?" she asked.

Secter sighed, and slung his belongings over his back.

"Alright," he said. "Let's get em."

They all ran in the direction of the threat, arriving in a clearing just at the edge of town. Sprawling desert was all that lay before them, the sky above grey and cloudy while thunder sounded off in the distance.

"See anything?" asked Mei.

"No, but keep your eyes peeled," said Rikuto.

Secter scanned the area, but saw no sight of any monsters. Instead, he spotted a strange cluster of grey hexagonal columns begin to rise from the sand and into the air above them. He took a step back, while his companions did the same. Whatever the strange object was, it was the size of a boulder, and hovered in the sky a few meters above head length.

"Is…is that the monster?" asked Rikuto.

"No, no," said a being somewhere off to Rikuto's left.

The three of them turned, only to see Sycamore approaching them from the side. He strode over to the bottom of the floating cluster, a sly grin on his face.

Secter's arms began to shake. His mind frozen in place as a cold sweat overcame his body, his throat going dry from the dread that threatened to devour him. This being before him was a Soulless, no doubt about it. He reached behind his back for the shotgun, his eyes widened and his lips trembling.

"This here is a trap," said Sycamore, pointing to the metal cluster. "Or more accurately, a little death trap for those monsters. As you'll see my friends, there's going to be a lot more of these here pretty so-"

Sycamore stopped when he spotted Secter leveling a shotgun at him. Raising an eyeline, Sycamore crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground impatiently.

"Excuse me, you little human degenerate, but you shouldn't aim at a true he-" Sycamore stopped dead short upon closer inspection of the shotgun.

"No," said Sycamore, taking a step back. "No, that can't be. That's an elimination weapon!" He stumbled back, falling onto his spine right underneath the floating cluster. "You put that down!"

"Why," said Secter. "The hell. Are you here. And who are you."

"I-I'm Sycamore," he said. "And put that down! Don't shoot, you imbecile!"

"Give me a reason," said Secter.

Rikuto and Mei exchanged uneasy glances, worried at the sight of the burning rage behind Secter's eyes.

"I'm not here to hurt any heroes, if that's what you're wondering," said Sycamore. "Just here to capture monsters and send them away! To get rid of them!"

"Why," said Secter, his voice dripping with suspicion and hate.

"That-that is my job," said Sycamore, raising his hands in surrender. "Once a reformist, always a reformist, surely you must know that! What are you, a Volunteer?"

Secter narrowed his eyes.

"You must be," said Sycamore. "Don't know where else you got a gun like that. Were you…in the war, by any chance?"

"War?" asked Mei.

"Don't worry about it," said Secter. "And yes, yes I was."

"Ah, me too, me too," said Sycamore. He tried to slide back to his feet, but a sudden advance from Secter put him back in his place again. "And…I uh, I was there after it too! Yes, stuck up in the Nothing after the war, as I'm sure you know all about!"

"I left as it was ending," said Secter, not a hint of sympathy in his voice.

"Ah, you got lucky then," said Sycamore, his voice shaky. "Me, I was still stuck up there. Along with so many others. Such a horrible place it is now, so horrible…"

"And then you came here," said Secter.

"Yes, yes," said Sycamore.

"And you weren't with anyone else," said Secter.

"No!" said Sycamore. "Just me."

Secter wasn't sure what to believe. The cowering Soulless before him didn't seem like he was a threat, but Secter thought he spotted the outline of a gun in the being's suit jacket.

"Can I get up now?" asked Sycamore. "My suit is going to get all dusty."

"Slowly," said Secter.

"Um, Secter," said Mei.

"What?" he asked.

"Is this the monster?" she asked.

"We'll find out," he said.

Sycamore rose from his spot, keeping his hands up in the air as to show his defeat.

"Ah, thank you," said Sycamore. "And I can assure you, I am no monster. I am only here to get rid of the monsters, as you see here." He pointed up at the floating cluster, his grin pained.

"Open it," said Secter. "So we can make sure."

"Yeah, open it!" said Rikuto. "What would a weirdo like you want to do with traps full of monsters?"

Sycamore sneered at Rikuto, but flicked his wrist at the grey object. Slowly it came drifting to the ground, and as Sycamore laid a hand upon it, it opened at the front to reveal several bloody and dead monsters all stuffed into the trap's cramped insides.

"There they are," said Sycamore.

"What the hell are you going to do with them?" asked Secter.

Sycamore shrugged.

"Eh, who knows," he said. "Probably send them off into space or something."

Secter frowned at the sight, but twitched his head to the side, as if giving Sycamore some hidden signal. Sycamore gave Secter a quizzical glance, but quickly realized what he meant and tapped the object to have it seal back up again.

"So you're here just to trap monsters," said Secter.

"That's it," said Sycamore.

"All because you want to help people," said Secter.

"Of course!"

Secter tightened his grip on his gun. Suddenly he charged forward, barrel of the shotgun speeding ahead until it was only inches from Sycamore's chest. The target let out a small gasp in response.

"You do anything out of line, and I'll hunt you down, you understand me?" asked Secter. His eyes burned into Sycamore's face, the alien no longer grinning but instead frowning in despair from his sudden attacker.

"You got it, you got it!" yelled Sycamore.

"Because I just had a not-so-kind Soulless show up last week, and I don't need another one to go around attacking people and destroying things."

"I would never," said Sycamore. "And is that right? That would explain what that Sitch guy was talking about…"

"What did you say?" asked Secter, poking the shotgun into Sycamore's chest.

"Nothing! Nothing to worry about! Just heard from the HA that there was some kind of incident!"

"There was," said Secter. "If you so much as think about trying a power, or so much as look at someone the wrong way, I'll be on you in seconds, and don't think I won't be willing to use this." He thrust the shotgun further into Sycamore's chest, pushing the alien a little.

"I wouldn't doubt it!" said Sycamore. "I can assure you, I've seen enough death and suffering to last me a lifetime, I have no intentions of hurting any humans or destroying anything but monsters."

Secter scowled at Sycamore but backed off of him, allowing Sycamore to let out a sharp breath.

"I'll be around," said Secter. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Sycamore.

Secter backed up from Sycamore, still keeping his shotgun trained on the alien.

"Your gun," said Secter.

"What?" asked Sycamore.

"Give it to me."

Sycamore groaned, but reached inside his jacket to pull out an elimination pistol complete with two barrels pockmarked with circular holes.

"Set it on the ground," said Secter.

Sycamore did so, and watched with irritation as Secter walked over and picked it up. Stuffing the gun in his bag, Secter fell back to the shocked Rikuto and Mei, who had been watching the entire discourse with a mix of fascination and fear.

"Let's go guys," said Secter. "Keep an eye on this one, he ever does anything suspicious, call me and I'll be there. Don't try and fight him, just get somewhere safe and call me."

"Uh…ok," said Rikuto.

With his scowl never disappearing until he turned around, Secter left Sycamore alone in the desert, a confused Rikuto and Mei by his side. Despite all their questions they had for Secter while he made his way back home, they got little in the way of answers from the grim-faced man.

. . .

Secter opened the door to his house, glancing around to make sure that Rikuto and Mei had actually left after they had said their goodbyes. He brought his bag up to waist height and walked inside, on the lookout for any sign of Tatsumaki. There was no one on the couch, but a sliver of nearby light coming from the bottom of the bathroom door gave away her position. Secter closed the front door behind him and crept over to the kitchen.

 _Where the hell am I going to hide this,_ he thought as he looked inside his bag to see the top of Sycamore's repeater pistol. _Of course this happens as I'm moving in with Tatsu, so hiding it is going to be much more tricky…_

"Secter?" said Tatsumaki from the bathroom. "That you?"

"Yeah, it's me," said Secter. He snapped his bag shut and maneuvered around the esper's kitchen table towards a nearby closet.

"Did you get everything all cleaned out?" she asked.

"Yep, everything," said Secter. "The deal is done, I'm all yours now."

Secter could hear giggling from the inside of the bathroom. A weary smile on his face, he opened the door to the closet, and began to search through rows of neatly stacked and hanging clothes for a spot to hide the pistol.

 _Ah fuck it, I could just teleport this pistol,_ thought Secter. _But if that Sycamore guy is still around…I don't want him knowing about Tatsu and me, and especially not where we live._

Secter let out a sigh, his whole body shaking with anger and exhaustion.

 _Fuck,_ he thought. _I just did all this. Just dealt with a Soulless. Please God let this guy be a good one. Please don't have him hurt anyone, especially not Tatsu…_

"Alright, I'm coming out," said Tatsumaki from the bathroom.

Secter jolted back into reality, and tossed the pistol behind a stack of folded clothes in the closet. Panicking, he turned back around and closed the closet's doors behind him just as Tatsumaki exited the bathroom and turned to face him. She was wearing more casual clothes instead of her normal dress, a white t-shirt and jeans as opposed to the black gown she typically wore.

"What are you doing?" asked Tatsumaki.

"I, uh," began Secter.

"Ohhhh, I know," said Tatsumaki, a smirk finding its way onto her face. "You're putting your clothes in with mine, aren't you? Well, don't mess anything up in there, I prefer to keep it organized."

"Yeah, yeah," said Secter, his arms shaky from Tatsumaki's near-discovery of his activities. "Don't worry, I won't mess anything up."

Tatsumaki smiled and strode over to him. Leaning on the tops of her toes, she kissed Secter on the cheek before falling back to her normal height.

"Hard to believe you live with me now," she said. "I never thought I would ever go this far with anyone, ever."

"Well like you used to say, I'm different," said Secter.

"In a good way," said Tatsumaki. She walked over to the kitchen, and once she neared her cabinets, she began to pull out various ingredients.

"I'll make some lunch," she said. "I'm starving."

"Me too," said Secter.

Tatsumaki turned to a nearby counter and started to lay out all of her ingredients before her in a colorful array of foods.

"I want to talk to my sis sometime," said Tatsumaki. "You know, about all the stuff you told her. I know we're gonna meet her later today, but I don't know if the café is a good place to talk about all that. We'll definitely need to talk about all of it though."

"Yeah, yeah definitely," said Secter. "She seemed to take it fairly well though."

"She did, but I just want to make sure," said Tatsumaki. "I want you there for the talk too."

"Oh I'll be there, without a doubt."

"Good. Are you going to put the rest of your stuff up?"

Secter glanced down at his bag, still clenched to his side.

"Right, right," said Secter. "Be right back."

He turned away and ran up the stairs to Tatsumaki's bedroom, shouldering his way past her door and entering the place. Setting his bag down on the ground, he rummaged through the contents, frowning at the two bottles of black bile that were still left in there.

 _I'll have to dump those out,_ he thought. _Shouldn't have even taken them here, why didn't I just dump them at my house…_

Grumbling, he pushed them to the side of the bag and fetched out a tennis ball, the mere sight of it making him smile. Secter walked over to Tatsumaki's nightstand and laid the ball down right next to a shiny display case which housed another object of the same kind. He beamed at the sight of the two objects next to each other, before heading back over to his bag. Not long after, he unpacked everything and put all that he had in their respective places. The only thing left were the two bottles of liquid, which sloshed in their glass prisons as Secter glared at them.

 _Leaving this behind,_ he thought. _Come on Secter, let's go dump this shit._

Heading out to Tatsumaki's backyard, he dug a little hole with a nearby trowel he found near her patio, and began to dump the foul-smelling liquid into it, watching as it seeped into the earth below. One bottle down.

Secter eyed the last one, his hand twitching as he began to tilt it sideways to allow the liquid to escape.

 _Just dump it, Secter,_ he thought.

He began to do so, watching with pain behind his eyes as the last remnants of the dark poison spewed into the tiny makeshift grave he made. As the bottle was finally emptied, Secter felt a rush of relief splash over him. It was finally done.

"Good fucking riddance," he muttered.

Turning away from the hole, Secter sighed as he began to walk back towards Tatsumaki's house, two bottles in hand.

 _I just want things to be normal with her,_ he thought. _I just want her to be happy, and…and me to be happy, and I don't want anything to come and ruin that. This fucking Sycamore person, or whatever the hell his real name is, why does he have to be here? Why now? Why does he have to come along and start messing with things? I know he said he only wanted to help, but there's something sleazy about that guy, can't quite put my finger on it…_

Entering the house, Secter found the nearest trashcan and tossed the two bottles inside. At their clanging, Tatsumaki straightened up from the kitchen where she was nearly done preparing the food.

"You all good over there?" asked Tatsumaki, her voice ringing throughout the house.

"Yeah, everything's unpacked," said Secter.

"I heard something clanging, sounded like bottles," said Tatsumaki. "You ok?"

"Everything's fine, everything's fine."


	2. Chapter 2

Sycamore snarled as he stalked his way through the streets, his entire body still quivering with fear after the earlier encounter with the Volunteer.

 _I can't fucking believe it,_ he thought. _Not in a million years would I have guessed there would've been a Volunteer here. And not just him, but apparently there was a Soulless too? Motherfucker I came here partly to get away from all of that bullshit, and somehow they stalk me even now…_

He kicked a nearby empty can of soda, and grimaced as he watched it barrel down the abandoned street.

 _Guess I'll just stick to the plan. Will…just have to watch out for that guy, he's got killer in those eyes. Had I had said the wrong thing, he probably would've fucking killed me. Goddamnit, this makes things trickier. Agh, just stick to the plan, stick to the plan…_

Up ahead, there was yelling, followed by laughter. Sycamore's signature grin came out to play once again.

 _Ah, I was wondering when I'd be running into a situation like this,_ he thought. _Now's the time to shine._

He bolted forward, homing in on the sounds of the voices from behind a building. As he turned around a street corner he came to another nearly-empty street, only this one had a couple of battered heroes on the ground while three monsters stood and laughed at them.

"These heroes are nothing!" shouted one of the monsters, a tall, slender, vulture-like creature.

"They will make good energy for me," said another, a towering robotic skeleton with a grate plastered over its face.

"Long live the Monster Association, and let this serve as a reminder to all-" said the last monster, a glowing slime beast with eyes pasted all around its body and a gaping maw of a mouth gasping in the front.

"Hey," said the slime. "Over there, in the suit! He must be a monster!"

"Welcome, friend," said the skeleton. "Do you wish to partake in the energy harvesting?"

"Never seen you around before," said the vulture. "But you look strong, we could use someone like you in our group."

The two heroes who were strewn on the ground moaned for help, one of them bleeding from the top of his head and had an arm bent the wrong way, the other bruised and battered with his spear broken in half not far from where he lay.

"Have no fear, my friends," said Sycamore, as he strode towards the broken heroes. "I am here to clean things up."

"Thanks, but we got this," said the slime.

"Energy," said the skeleton. "Give me the energy first."

"Wasn't talking to you," said Sycamore. "I am here to end the monsters."

"What?" asked the vulture. "The hell is your deal? You're a monster like us, and we already had a big defeat at the Mons-"

Massive, shiny columns of steel rose from the ground in a square around the monsters, and each one turned to panic at the sudden cage that enclosed around them. The last sound to come from the monsters was a startled scream as the group was squished together when the columns snapped forward into a cluster. Gone was the gaggle of laughing monsters, replaced by a clump of grey hexagonal columns which began to float into the air. The two heroes watched in confused awe at the display, gawking as the cluster floated higher and higher until it was gone from view.

"And there you go," said Sycamore. "It seems you heroes have failed in your job, so I, out of the kindness of my heart, have stepped into place." He laid a hand over his chest as if to recite an anthem.

"You…you're helping us," said one of the heroes, his name found to be Stinger by Sycamore's mind-search.

"More like doing your job for you," said Sycamore. "Did you two just come here on your own, just a duo with no planning or organization? Is this typical of lower-class heroes?"

"I'm A-class!" yelled Stinger. "Not low!"

"Yet you still failed," said Sycamore.

Stinger hung his head, resignation plaguing his features.

"Apparently that skeleton was a Demon-level," he said. "I…underestimated it."

"Good job," said Sycamore. "Well, run along, you wannabe heroes. Go home, and start living your little lives as normal people."

Stinger and the other hero gave Sycamore perplexed looks.

"Because soon," said Sycamore, his grin widening to unnatural levels. "All of the monsters will be gone."

Stinger laughed, managing to pull himself up albeit with a grunt of pain in the process.

"Yeah alright pal," said Stinger. "Whatever you say."

"If I were you, I would either start planning on how you're going to use your powers for gain once the monsters are gone, or just start resigning yourself to a normal life," said Sycamore.

"What on earth?" asked Stinger. "Look, whoever you are. You might be strong, but no one, and I mean no one, is strong enough to take on all the monsters at the moment."

"Oh, don't be so sure," said Sycamore, his eyes gleaming. "I might be able to think of a few…"

Stinger shook his head at the strange being.

"What's your name again?" asked Stinger.

"Sycamore," he said. "And no, I don't work for anyone. I'm just here to help you all out, and show some…true sides of people along the way."

Stinger narrowed his eyes at Sycamore, unsure what to make of him and all he was sputtering.

"Well, I must be off," said Sycamore. "See you later _heroes_ , if you can even call yourselves that." He laughed, and began to walk off in a different direction. From up above, crouching and watching from a rooftop, was a man with fiery silver hair, an expression that was just as skeptical as Stinger's entrenched on his face.

. . .

Secter glanced over his shoulder, a flash of fear spreading through his brain as someone screamed off to his side. It was only a passing car with a yelling driver. Sighing, he turned back to the booth that Tatsumaki and Fubuki were also sitting in, the smaller esper to his right. In front of him and Tatsumaki were a couple of cups of coffee, while Fubuki had a salad arranged in front of her. Not far from where they sat was the Blizzard Group, which had shuffled around and appeared nervous at the sight of Tatsumaki when she first arrived to the café, but by this point seemed to be getting used to seeing her even around her sister. Fubuki was laughing and smiling at the talks the trio were having, which in turn eased the nerves of the larger group which she led.

"I don't see you wearing stuff like that all that often," said Fubuki, pointing to the casualwear Tatsumaki had on.

"Yeah, a shame that's the case," said Secter, looking over at his favorite person in the world. "You look really good, although that's always the case."

Tatsumaki blushed, and sent a hand wiping at the bridge of her nose as if to try and hide the fact.

"Thanks," she said.

 _Love this man,_ she thought.

Fubuki smiled at the two of them.

"You're so cute together," she said.

Secter gave a small laugh, while Tatsumaki's face burned even hotter.

"Thanks, Fubuki," said Secter. He wrapped an arm around Tatsumaki, and she pushed herself into him in response.

"So how have you been?" asked Secter while looking at Fubuki. "It's been a little bit, I know when we last left off I kinda dumped a lot on you…"

"Yeah, I had been thinking about all that," said Fubuki. "It was…you're right, it was a lot."

"You didn't tell anyone, right?" asked Tatsumaki.

"What?" asked Fubuki. She raised her hands up as if surrendering the meal that was in front of her. "No, no. I would never do that."

"Good," said Tatsumaki. "This is between us."

"I know," said Fubuki. "I didn't tell my group or anything."

"I wouldn't think you the type to do that," said Secter. He eyed Tatsumaki, worried. "Have at least a little faith for your sis, Tatsu."

"I…do, I've just been…worried, is all," said Tatsumaki.

"Worried?" asked Fubuki.

"Well, you know, I nearly lost both of you, several times," said Tatsumaki. "So I've just been…anxious, I guess."

 _Oh God, if she finds out about Sycamore,_ thought Secter. _If she finds that fucking pistol! I have to move that fucking pistol!_

"That's…understandable," said Fubuki. "But I don't want you to be worried all the time."

"Me neither," said Secter. As he said this, he caught a glimpse of someone wearing a dull grey suit pass by one of the café's windows and he nearly jumped out of his seat.

Startled, Tatsumaki gave the man a strange look while Fubuki did the same.

"You ok?" asked Tatsumaki.

Secter eyed the passerby, settling back down into his seat when he realized it was just a random civilian.

"Yeah, yeah, just kinda jumpy today for some reason," said Secter.

Tatsumaki eyed Secter with suspicion while Fubuki crossed her arms.

"What, uh, what were we talking about again?" asked Secter, all too aware of the looks the sisters were giving him.

"What you told me at the hospital," said Fubuki. "And…I would like to talk more about all that, but I don't know if this is the best place to do it."

"I agree," said Tatsumaki. "You should come over to my place, we can all have dinner or something."

"That…sounds really nice actually," said Fubuki. "I would like that."

"Yeah!" said Secter. "We could make a night out of it. And obviously it wouldn't have to be all serious talk and such."

"That sounds good," said Fubuki. "Unfortunately I can't do it tonight, was planning on going to Bang's dojo with the group. He gets kind of strict on training regimens and timing, it gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Haven't talked to Bang in a while, I should visit him sometime," said Secter. "I don't know if he even knows what happened at the HA…"

"Lot of people don't," said Tatsumaki. "I hear a lot of people say that there was some kind of monster that showed up, and I killed it."

"Fair enough," said Secter.

"People are still so worried about ranking and power," she said. "You're right, I'm starting to dislike it a little too."

"Well, it makes sense," said Fubuki. "I still want to get better at fighting, but only to help other people now."

"Good, keep at it," said Secter. "I think the dojo will help."

"My…group definitely has improved," said Fubuki. "I…kinda struggle with the martial arts sometimes, it's just not really my field of expertise."

Tatsumaki glanced over at Secter to give him a 'I told you so' look.

"Well, it's going to be difficult for sure," said Secter. "But if you keep at it…"

"Yeah yeah, I know," said Fubuki.

"I'll have to swing around sometime," said Secter. "See how things are going."

"Feel free," said Fubuki. "Sometimes Saitama and Genos and King come by too, although they don't really do much."

"What a surprise," said Tatsumaki. "Except for maybe King, he makes for a good hero."

 _The civilian guy?_ thought Secter.

"I think they all do," said Fubuki. "Now if only they would join up with my group…"

"Don't tell me you're still trying to push people into your group," said Secter.

"I, well, I'm not doing that per se…" said Fubuki. She shrank into her seat, as if suddenly the entire world was staring her down. "But if they wanted…"

Tatsumaki frowned at her sister.

"I'm not sure how Saitama and those others see you," said Tatsumaki. "But I don't think they want to join. Not saying they couldn't be your friends or anything, but I just don't think it's gonna happen."

"Yeah, they can be your friends without being in your group," said Secter. "You don't have to try and use them to make yourself look better, that won't make you a better hero at all."

"I know…" said Fubuki, her entire body frame seeming to collapse in on itself as she wrapped her arms around her sides. "Wouldn't mind having them as friends however, though I don't know how they'd feel about that…"

Tatsumaki looked up at Secter, giving him a worried look. Secter nodded at her.

"I'm sure they'd come around to it," said Secter. "And your group Fubuki…I think they see themselves as your friends, and you probably see em as such too. I just hope you start to see them more as friends than as people to use."

"I know, I know, and I do," said Fubuki. "I know now it's not the best way for me to act, to see them as tools… But ah well, I'd like to talk more, but we have to go. Bang has a long training regimen for today."

 _She's shutting the conversation down,_ thought Tatsumaki. _This stuff still seems to get to her, maybe I should talk more about it with her…maybe that will help her to not to be as afraid of me._

"Alright, I guess we should get going too," said Secter. He yawned and stretched. "Tatsu, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," said Tatsumaki. "I'll see you later sis."

"See you guys!" said Fubuki. She got up from the booth, and began to head back towards her group, which welcomed her with warm smiles.

Tatsumaki and Secter said their goodbyes to the group, and left the place to head straight back home. Once they got there, Secter dove onto the couch, while Tatsumaki headed towards the kitchen again.

"Feeling tired," said Secter, as he got himself comfortable on the couch. "Might take a nap."

"Alright," said Tatsumaki. "I'm going to order food later, I'll wake you up in a bit."

"Sounds good," said Secter. With that, he closed his eyes and began to drift into sleep.

. . .

He was lying on the ground, his face planted in the dirt. For whatever reason, large sections of his body stung and ached, and when Secter brought a hand down to his midsection, he felt something warm flowing underneath. Pulling his hand up to his face, his eyes widened when he saw his palm was coated with red.

Secter tried to pull himself to his feet, but couldn't find the energy to do so. Instead, he looked straight ahead. Not far from where he lay, he spotted Tatsumaki lying on the ground as well, her eyes closed and blood seeping out from several massive gashes along her chest and legs. Secter gasped in horror, his mind clouding as he struggled to crawl towards her. Every reach felt like he had scraped himself along for a mile, and the air turned to molasses as he did his best to reach the fallen esper. Just as he was about to touch her leg, a black boot came crashing down in front of his fingers, nearly crushing them underfoot. Secter looked up.

In front of him was a Soulless in an officer's overcoat, a bloody and shredded piece of clothing which no sane being would ever wear. But instead of a mask and an officer's hat, the Soulless in front of him wore no face or headgear, instead only grinning down at the fallen man.

The Soulless leaned down, its body doubling over while Secter's body began to shake in horror.

"Let's not have any repeats, shall we?" asked the Soulless.

Secter forced his eyes open and the Soulless was gone. Instead of a black boot near his hand, he could feel someone shaking him, and he turned to spot Tatsumaki standing over him, worry in her eyes.

"You awake?" she asked. "You were twitching in your sleep, looked like you were having a bad dream."

"I…I was," said Secter. "A real bad dream."

"Well, you were only asleep for like an hour," said Tatsumaki. "So I haven't ordered food yet, I'll do it later. You want to sit down with me for a bit?"

"Yeah, yeah that would be good," said Secter. He propped himself up, and wiped away at the cold sheen of sweat that embalmed his forehead.

Tatsumaki started to walk past him, aiming to sit down on the couch next to Secter. As she walked, Secter spotted a brown stain on the side of her shirt, a small yet dark spot that stood out against the white fabric.

"I think you got a little coffee on you," said Secter.

"What?" asked Tatsumaki. She stretched her shirt out to the side, snarling once she saw the tiny stain on it. "Is that a coffee stain? How did I not notice this?"

"Well, we were in the café for a little while," said Secter. "Coffee probably got lukewarm in the meantime, and you might've spilled a bit when you were drinking it at that temp and thus not've noticed since it wasn't so hot."

"Maybe," said Tatsumaki. "Ugh. Hang on a sec, I'm going to switch shirts." She walked away from the couch, and behind Secter.

"Alright," said Secter. He leaned back into the couch, doing his best to relax after being startled from his dream. Then he heard Tatsumaki rummaging around in the closet, and his heart froze.

. . .

"Is that another game we're going to play?" asked Saitama, peering over at his friend who had just picked up a copy of a video game.

"No, this is…uh, just something I'm looking at," said King, eying the box with two wide-eyed and overjoyed women on the front.

"Oh," said Saitama, his expression changing from curiosity to utter indifference. He lifted a bag of groceries from one hand and checked the contents, making extra sure that he had everything he needed.

"Well hurry it up," said Saitama. "I've got to get some of this stuff back home, then take the rest to Bang's place later."

"Right," said King, flipping over the copy of the game to look at the back. "I do like going to that place."

"We'll get there later," said Saitama. He peered out of a nearby window to look at a store across the street, the same one he had visited earlier and had gotten such great deals at. For a moment, everything seemed normal, until a crowd of people ran screaming past the window, blocking his view of the street outside.

"What the hell?" asked Saitama.

As the crowd passed, a massive scorpion with robotic, spindly legs and a laser for a tail crawled into view, before aiming its weaponized stinger at the store and blasting the front wall apart with a single powerful beam.

"Hey!" yelled Saitama. "That's my favorite store!"

King barely had time to look up from the game he was inspecting before Saitama had rushed outside. Startled, he dropped the game on the floor and followed the bald hero, only to see that Saitama was standing right outside the videogame store, staring the scorpion down.

"Prepare to meet your end!" barked the scorpion, its mouthpiece chattering as it spoke.

 _Eugh, it can talk_ , thought Saitama.

He reared back to strike the vile creature, but as his fist began to fly forward, a series of grey columns burst from the ground below to ensnare the insect in a prism of steel. Saitama stopped his punch mid-way, and gazed at the trap of columns as it rose into the air and eventually vanished from sight.

"Huh," he said. "Well, I guess that takes care of-"

"You!" yelled Sycamore, who shouldered his way past a shocked crowd of people which had previously been running from the monster. He strode up to Saitama, who gave him a confused look.

"Been looking for you," said Sycamore, his eyes gleaming and his grin widening to reveal rows of sharp black teeth.

"Uh, I don't know who you are," said Saitama. "You a monster?"

"No, no, I'm the one who just sent that scorpion away," said Sycamore. "Name's Sycamore."

"Never heard of you."

"Don't worry, you'll be all too familiar with me someday. The man who was always right, I'm sure they'll call me."

"Sooooo, are you like a hero then? You better not be like that last guy I thought was a hero, you do have the black fire and all that."

"Yes, I hear there was another one of my kind around not too long ago," said Sycamore. "Did some damage too, truly a shame. And if you met him, why didn't you try to fight him?"

"I mean, I wish I did now," said Saitama. "But when I first met him, he just seemed like a bit of a wreck, and was actually warning me about monsters and such. So I didn't punch him then and there or anything-"

"Ah, so you might've contributed to the HA's place being destroyed, gotcha," said Sycamore. "And perhaps even to civilian deaths, who knows." Sycamore laughed, a low and guttural sound. "Wouldn't be the first time, am I right?"

Saitama narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, and turned to see King approaching from the side. King's face was serious, his typical stare of menace doing little to deter the chuckling Sycamore.

"Look, we've got our own stuff to do," said King. "Mister…Sycamore, right? We're glad that you got rid of the monster, but now we're going to go our own way. That is, if you're not going to hurt anyone."

"No, no," said Sycamore. "I only intend to get rid of the monsters."

Behind him, Sycamore could hear the whispers of the crowd, disjointed phrases and quiet utterings of how King was going to take care of everything.

"Can you believe them?" asked Sycamore. He jabbed a thumb behind his back at the assorted crowd of people. "They still think you can actually do things." He pointed over at King.

"If necessary, I can activate my King Engine," said King. "But I don't see any reason to do that now-"

"Ha!" yelled Sycamore. "King Engine! More like you end up pissing yourself! Do not try and scam me King, I've been lied to in the past and I know how to look through a person or two."

King began to sweat from the top of his head, but he didn't move a muscle on his face.

"Call me out all you want," said King. "It is only because you are afraid."

"Quite the opposite," said Sycamore. "But I'll get back to you King. For now, I wanted to say a bit to you, Saitama." He turned towards Saitama, who was staring back over at the store to survey the amount of damage that had been done.

 _Damn, they might not be open for another week at least,_ thought Saitama. _How on earth am I going to get all those Saturday deals now?_

"And he's not listening," said Sycamore. "That is so very typical of you Saitama. Not thinking about the world around you anymore, it's all your own little space in your head."

"Huh?" asked Saitama, turning back to Sycamore.

"You're no hero either," said Sycamore. "King is no hero, and you're certainly no hero."

"No, I am," said Saitama. "I'm a professional hero, but it's more of a hobby really."

"Awfully murderous and self-absorbed for a hero," said Sycamore, sputtering out his words as fast as he could. It was as if he were meeting an idol for the first and perhaps only time in his life, but instead of respect, only venom dripped from his words. "Certainly, when you find a monster, you are effective, but of course it takes so long and even then, you tend to not think about the consequences of what you do…"

Saitama let out a small groan, wondering why he was even bothering to talk with this being in the first place.

"And you said it was a hobby for you," said Sycamore. "You mean to say you do this for fun?"

"Yeah, more or less," said Saitama.

"And are you having fun?" asked Sycamore.

 _Oh my God, why I am still talking to this guy,_ thought Saitama. _Who the hell even is he?_

"I'm going to take your silence as a no," said Sycamore. "And I have bad news for you, mister _hero_ , soon there won't be any more fights for you to try and get excited about."

"Hmm?" asked Saitama.

Sycamore jabbed a thumb into his chest, standing proud and tall over the two heroes that were assembled before him.

"I am going to get rid of all the monsters," said Sycamore. "Truly, a savior of mankind. I just wonder what the heroes will do once their main adversaries are gone…"

"Well, have fun with that," said Saitama.

"Nah, that part is the boring part," said Sycamore. "The fun part, oh, the real fun part, will be seeing humankind tear itself apart once the monsters are gone. Heh heh heh, you'll wish you had those monsters back by the time I'm done!"

"Doubt it," said Saitama. "I mean, we don't really need the monsters anyways."

"We'll see," said Sycamore. "Although it is different for you, as you need a specific kind of monster. One to feed your lust for a good battle."

"Not gonna happen, not worried about it," said Saitama.

"Whatever you say," said Sycamore. "But I'll be seeing you around, mass murderer."

Saitama's eye twitched. Anger began to rise up from the bowels of his soul.

"What did you call me?" he asked.

"Sorry, sorry," said Sycamore. "Perhaps you prefer to go by Destroyer of City B?"

"That was an accident!" said Saitama.

King looked over at his friend in confusion, surprised by the amount of irritation in Saitama's voice. Sycamore on the other hand, laughed and laughed.

"Whatever you say Saitama," said Sycamore. "You'd think a hero as powerful as you would do his best to avoid making mistakes…and perhaps would take his strength as a tool a little more seriously."

"I do the best I can," said Saitama. "Who are you to criticize?"

"Oh, I'm just your average observer," said Sycamore. "But of course I can criticize, why wouldn't I be able to? I just hope you can reevaluate yourself, Saitama. Perhaps one day you'll even learn that wanting a good fight at your level is just as selfish and moronic as all the other mistakes you've made and things you think. And perhaps that instead of 'doing the best you can,' you hardly do anything at all…so irritating to see."

Saitama sighed. He hadn't felt this annoyed in a long while.

"I'll be seeing you two around!" yelled Sycamore as he started to leave. "You're going to be hearing big things about me soon, big things!"

Saitama shook his head and turned away from the scene, a distraught King following after him.

"Saitama, don't pay any attention to him," said King.

"Don't worry about it, we don't even know that guy," said Saitama. "And as far as I know, not many died during that B city incident."

"Huh," said King. "Well, even still, let's not worry about him for now. Let's just go."

"Agreed."

. . .

"What is this?" asked Tatsumaki as she fished out a glowing pistol out from behind a stack of her clothes.

Secter sat on the couch, refusing to look back over at her. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and he felt rooted to the spot.

 _Oh God no,_ he thought. _Oh God no._

"Secter. What is this." Her voice was harsh, and Secter could feel the anger seething from her even from several feet away.

"It's…it's uh," said Secter.

"What is it?!"

"It's…just my pistol," said Secter.

"Your pistol. Was destroyed."

"Yes well, that's what I forgot to tell you when I was coming back from my house, I found some spare parts lying around in my home and I used them to recreate and fix up my pistol."

"Really."

"Yes," said Secter. By this point Tatsumaki had walked back over to him. She dropped the pistol on the coffee table in front of Secter, and crossed her arms as she shot daggers down from her eyes. Secter failed to meet her glare.

"Is that it?" asked Tatsumaki. "Is that the story you want to give?"

 _This is absolutely fucking terrible,_ thought Secter. _I have had many bad days, but this is one of the worst._

"That…that is the story," said Secter. He still didn't even bother to look up at Tatsumaki.

Secter could feel breathing on his neck, and he stiffened as he realized just how close Tatsumaki was. Her mouth came right up to his ear, and she whispered into it as she spoke.

"Because you never even got your pistol back from the HA," said Tatsumaki. "I had to get it when I went to get the shotgun, and I threw it out because it was useless."

 _Oh no,_ thought Secter.

Tatsumaki reeled back from Secter, struggling to keep herself from exploding at him.

"You've never been a good liar Secter," said Tatsumaki. "I don't know how you managed to keep a lot of your stuff hidden for so long, because you do stuff like _this_." She pointed at the pistol on the coffee table, which Secter groaned at.

"Where did this actually come from Secter, and why did you hide it from me?"

"It…"

"Do not lie again."

 _God please kill me,_ thought Secter. _Just strike me down where I sit._

"Well?!" asked Tatsumaki, stomping her foot in frustration.

"There was…another Soulless."

Tatsumaki said nothing for a bit, but then began to chuckle. Secter winced at the sound, and looked up to see the esper clenching a hand over her face as she laughed.

"Tatsu…are you ok?" he asked.

Tatsumaki kept chuckling, and circled around the side of the coffee table to sit on it across from Secter. Pushing the pistol out of the way, she withdrew her hand from her face to reveal two aggrieved, yet shimmering wet eyes.

"Another Soulless," she said. "And I can't beat these Soulless, can I?"

"Tatsu…" said Secter. The sight of her crying made him want to reach out and embrace her, but he knew that it wouldn't end well.

Tatsumaki chuckled again, sniffling as she wiped at the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"The moment I find someone I love, the moment I start to branch out and care about other people, is the moment the universe tries to take them all away. What, are you just going to go off and vanish just like everyone else I care about?"

"Tatsu, I'm not going anywhere. And neither is Fubuki."

Tatsumaki shook her head.

"I've seen what those things can do," she said. "Do we just have to live in a bunker now? Just you, and me, and Fubuki. All so we can be safe. All so I can keep you safe."

"Tatsu, you shouldn't be trying to take full responsibility for our safety or anything, it's-"

"I just want you all to be ok!" yelled Tatsumaki. "And there's nothing I can do about it! I hate feeling powerless, I fucking hate it!" She stifled a sob, burying her head in the crux of an arm as she cried.

"It…reminds me of when I was young," said Tatsumaki. "When I was useless, and couldn't do anything. When people just used me for what little I had, just because they felt they could get something out of it. But now, now I can't do anything again, and I'm going to lose the only people I care about because of it."

"It's not your fault Tatsu, and this time is different I think…"

"What do you mean, different?" asked Tatsumaki. "It's another fucking Soulless, who could probably kill Fubuki or even you in an instant, and I can't do anything to stop it."

"This one didn't seem to want to kill anyone," said Secter. "He's no Commandant."

"You…don't know him," said Tatsumaki.

"Well…no. But he claimed to only want to help people for some reason. Actually when we found him, Rikuto and Mei and me, he was trapping monsters and sending them up into space."

"Trapping…monsters."

"Yeah, that seemed to be his goal. And I told him that if he tried anything, I would hunt him down. He was pretty frightened of me, actually. I made him give up his gun, which is the one you have on the table."

Tatsumaki peered over at the pistol before turning back to Secter. His worried expression only made her want to cry more.

"Well," she said. "At least you did that. But are you sure he doesn't want to kill anyone?"

"I…I can't say for sure," said Secter. "He seemed a little sleazy to me, and called himself Sycamore, which is an odd name even for a Soulless. But other than that, he made no attempts to try and attack me or Rikuto or Mei, and he was trapping monsters before we even got to him, so…"

"I can't tell if I want you to keep an eye on him, or if I want you to stay as far away as possible, and just live here with me, all the time."

"Well, I'd love to always be here around with you, but it would be good for me to keep an eye on Sycamore," said Secter. "Buuuut, we might be able to enlist some help for this, maybe some more powerful heroes and such."

"Fubuki knows some people," said Tatsumaki. "And maybe Bang…"

"Exactly!" said Secter. "Just…watch the guy, and if anything goes wrong, well, I'm the one with the guns. Sycamore's probably about as strong as me, and if he has no elimination weapons, he'll be at a huge disadvantage in a fight."

"I really hope it doesn't come to that."

"Me neither. But we should still watch him."

Tatsumaki sighed. She prodded the gun with her fingers.

"I really wish you had just told me, instead of lying like that," said Tatsumaki.

Secter frowned, casting his gaze downwards.

"Yeah, yeah I know," he said. "I had planned to tell you eventually. But for the time being, I was afraid."

"Afraid?"

"I was scared of freaking you out. I already know how anxious you are, and I get why you'd be so worried. I didn't want to add to your stress, especially since I just got out of the fucking hospital. Even still, I probably should've just told you instead of waiting to do so, we could've had an actual conversation about it as opposed to me…hurting you like this."

"Yeah, you probably should've. But…I understand why you'd hide the gun, I guess. Though I'm still mad at you."

"Yeah, I figured. Honestly if you want me to sleep out here tonight…I'd understand."

Tatsumaki crossed her arms, contemplating the idea.

"I'll…think about it," she said. She got up from the coffee table, her eyes still burning. Leaving Secter behind, she started to head towards the bedroom, shuffling away with her back hunched.

"Are…you going to bed now?" asked Secter. "You're not going to have some food?"

"I'm not hungry anymore," said Tatsumaki. "Lost my appetite."

"Oh," said Secter. "Well, goodnight then."

No response from Tatsumaki. She disappeared from sight as she turned into the bedroom. A few seconds later, Secter heard her slam a door.

 _Tatsu no…_ thought Secter. _Please don't try and face this alone… My heart's breaking for you._

He sighed as he got up from his seat, his head a mess of emotions and his chest heavy as a boulder. Making his way to the kitchen, he pulled out a leftover sandwich and ate it alone at the kitchen table. It was pitch black outside, and Secter worried that Sycamore or even some different Soulless might be out there in the darkness, watching. Shaking his head, he discarded the thought and went back over to the couch. He laid there for over an hour, but his eyes refused to close. Tossing and turning, his only thoughts were those of Tatsumaki, as he worried over her possibly crying alone in her bedroom. Try as he might, he couldn't get the image of her sobbing into a pillow out of his head.

"Secter," said Tatsumaki from behind the couch.

Secter bolted upright, only to see Tatsumaki in a nightgown watching him from the corridor that led to her bedroom. Her eyes were still puffy, but were also dry.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Come to bed," she said. "I don't like not having you there."

"Ok," he said.

Following her to the bedroom, Secter discarded his shirt as he climbed into bed, and let out a breath of relief as Tatsumaki clambered in with him and pressed herself against his chest. He craned his neck down and kissed her on the forehead, to which Tatsumaki sighed. He kissed her again on the bridge of her nose, and then on the tip of her nose. Tatsumaki gave him a weak smile, and buried her head under his neck. Secter pulled her in close, praying that she would pull through okay.


	3. Chapter 3

Tatsumaki grumbled as she lifted her buzzing phone off of her nightstand, clenching it as her fingers wrapped around the sides of the object in order to better mask the sound. She glanced over at Secter, who was still sleeping beside her, and after a quick look at the screen to see the call was coming from the Hero Association, she snuck out of bed, creeping out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Sighing, she stared at the screen and wondered why on earth they would be calling so early. Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow and tapped the phone, lifting the device to her ear after she had done so.

"What is it?" she asked. "Another threat?"

"We apologize, Miss Tatsumaki," said the official on the line, a nervous-sounding man. "But there's an urgent meeting for you and the other S-class heroes at the Association…"

"What's it about?"

"We were told to keep it classified until we met you," said the official. "Please come as quickly as possible."

"Ugh, fine," she said. "But this better be important."

The call ended and Tatsumaki dragged herself back over to the bedroom. Walking over to the side of the bed where Secter lay, she placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently, watching as his eyes fluttered open.

"Secter," she said. "I have to go to the HA."

"What?" he asked, his voice still bogged down with sleepiness. "What for?"

"I don't know, they won't tell me," said Tatsumaki. "But if I had to guess, it's probably about that other Soulless you mentioned."

Secter stiffened in his sheets, his eyes opening wide with fear.

"Right, probably," he said. "Maybe I…maybe I should go with you."

"I don't think they'll let you into the meeting room. They said S-class only."

"Well, I meant I can at least go with you until we make it to the HQ."

"That's fine," said Tatsumaki. "Lets me keep an eye on you too."

"I promise I won't get into any trouble."

"Bit too late for that."

Secter frowned and shrunk down into the covers.

"Well," said Tatsumaki, turning away from him to start heading towards the bathroom. "I'm going to start getting ready, you should do the same."

"Alright, alright."

About an hour later the both of them were standing outside Tatsumaki's house, the esper still displeased about the fact that she needed to go to the HA in the first place.

"I'm going to fly there," she said. "I don't know if you want to walk, or run, or teleport, or whatever it is you do…"

"Eh, I'll get there one way or another," said Secter, scratching at the t-shirt he had on. "I won't leave you behind."

"Just keep an eye out for…you know, _him_ ," said Tatsumaki.

"Trust me, I will."

"Still can't believe you lied about that."

Secter stared down at the ground, guilt swirling in his head.

"I just didn't want to have you worried with all that so quickly…" he said. "I was going to tell you, but I wanted you to have a little break after I had just got out of the hospital."

"I get it, but you shouldn't keep things from me like that," said Tatsumaki. She turned to look at Secter, her eyes gleaming with worry. "We're supposed to be open with each other, remember? You can tell me anything, I'll listen."

Secter smiled at her.

"I know, I know," he said. "And the same goes for you. I'll…make sure not to do something like that again."

"Good," said Tatsumaki. She began to float into the air, a bright green outline surrounding her body. "I'm heading off, you keep an eye out below."

"Got it," said Secter.

Tatsumaki took off, with Secter roaming the streets below her, searching all around for any sign of the suited threat. Occasionally Tatsumaki would pause mid-flight to check back down on Secter below, who would also stop to look up at her. Every time he did this, he smiled at her and gave Tatsumaki a thumbs-up, to which she just smirked and shook her head.

 _Dork,_ she thought.

Eventually she made it to the front entrance of the Hero Association, with Secter close behind her. She said a quick goodbye to him as she neared the building and gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading inside. Secter watched her go, rubbing at the side of his face where Tatsumaki had kissed him.

Inside, the building was empty save for a few anxious looking staff members wandering to and fro. Tatsumaki strode past them, until one of the officials approached her and led her to a meeting room on the top floor. Tatsumaki entered the room, a brightly-light meeting area adorned with a large rectangular table. At the head sat Sitch, along with several other officials Tatsumaki didn't know. Behind her, the door closed, and Tatsumaki glanced back before examining the rows of empty seats which surrounded the table.

"Am I early?" she asked. "You guys told me to come as soon as possible."

"No, you're right on time," said Sitch. He tugged at his tie, his palms sweaty.

"Then where is the rest of S-class?" asked Tatsumaki. She crossed her arms at the near-empty table.

"They will be meeting with us soon, but first we wanted to talk to you privately," said Sitch.

Tatsumaki sighed, and let her arms drop to her sides.

"Alright then, what do you want."

"Recently there has been a potential threat which went so far as to even appearing in our boardroom during a meeting," said Sitch. "This being is…unusual, to say the least, and what we are concerned about are its similarities to another recent threat."

Tatsumaki swallowed, a gob of nervousness forcing its way down her throat.

"You mean…the one that attacked this building?" she asked.

"Yes, the one you were last seen going after," said Sitch. "Speaking of which, on a slightly related note, you weren't the one who caused all that damage to the building right?"

"No!" said Tatsumaki. "I wasn't even there when it happened!"

"Right, right, we were just making sure," said Sitch. "But in any case, from the few images we actually had of the attacker, we've noticed some small similarities between him and this new entity. We were wondering if you knew anything about the last one, if there was anything you could tell us about him that might give us an edge over this new threat if it…well, if it turns out to be one."

Frowning, Tatsumaki contemplated just what she could give to the assembly of officials who were sitting before her.

 _I…don't want to tell them about that monster's connection to Secter,_ she thought. _I'm not sure how much help I could give them here, to be honest…_

"That…attacker," she began.

The officials leaned in close, some of whom whipped out pens from the pockets of their suits and pressed them against clipboards which sat atop the table.

"It seemed to be an alien of some kind," said Tatsumaki. "A powerful one too. I…if this new alien starts hurting people or destroying things, we will have a huge problem on our hands. Might…might even need to call in Blast."

"I see," said Sitch, his brows furrowed in worry and his heart starting to thud in his chest. "But you managed to take out the last one, correct? What makes this new alien any different?"

 _Should I tell them it was Secter?_ she thought. _Obviously I can't tell them it was me, because then they'll underestimate this alien and even try to send me after it. But on the other hand, I don't want these jerks breathing down Secter's neck trying to get him to go after the new alien. It's just…too dangerous. I just hope this won't be the only option. Maybe…maybe Blast could actually help?_

"Well…" said Tatsumaki. "It…it wasn't without great difficulty, and even then, I nearly died several times in the process. This new alien might be even stronger than the last, I'm not sure."

"Ah, well, Blast might have to be an option then," said Sitch. He leaned back in his chair, uncertainty in his eyes. "Certainly this alien is powerful…it managed to appear in the middle of our headquarters with no warning."

"Yes…these things are big threats, for sure."

"Well, I'm glad we at least have a plan then," said Sitch. "And I think that about covers what we wanted to talk to you about personally, since after all you're the only one who seems to have dealt with a being like him. There was that other person, Secter I think his name was, who was also with you, though I imagine he only played a small role at best, maybe helping to locate the last alien?"

"Ah…more or less," said Tatsumaki. "He helped, but don't bring him into this, he…won't be able to do enough."

Tatsumaki knew this was a bold-faced lie, but Sitch and the others seemed to be eating it up. Whatever it took to keep people from pressuring Secter into a fight that might be avoided, Tatsumaki was going to take it.

"What do you know about this new one?" she asked.

"That's what we will cover next," said Sitch. "Bring in the rest of the heroes."

The doors opened behind Tatsumaki, and in came the motley crew of heroes from S-class. Everyone, even the mysterious Drive Knight, entered the room and took their respective seats. They filled the room around Tatsumaki, leaving only one seat open for the hero who never showed. Tatsumaki noticed Zombieman staring at her as he sat down, and she gave him an annoyed look in response.

 _She was already in here?_ thought Zombieman. _S-class two, must be serious…_

"Welcome, everyone," said Sitch. "Today we have a…special kind of entity who you might have heard of by this point."

He swiveled in his seat to witness a monitor drop down from the ceiling above, hanging by a few invisible cords. Picking up a remote on the side of his chair, he pressed a button on the device and watched as an image of Sycamore's grinning face appeared on the screen, along with a few of his steel traps hovering in the air in the background.

"This being is known as Sycamore," said Sitch. He swiveled back to face the heroes.

Tatsumaki's face went white as Sycamore's grin came into view. Her arms began to shake, quivering uncontrollably as she sank in her seat. Grimacing, she managed to pull herself back up even as her stomach churned at the slightest movement.

Murmurs went around the room as the heroes inspected the image.

"This…alien has been going around and capturing monsters," said Sitch. "We're not sure where he sends them, but he gets rid of them nonetheless. Actually, we have a clip of him doing such a thing, caught by one of Metal Knight's drones…" He clicked another button on the remote and the image behind him began to move, turning from a still image to a video. On it, Sycamore was dashing around a field, lifting monsters from their spots on the ground and sending them flying into various massive traps that were strewn all over the place. The monsters snarled and snapped, but looked almost paralyzed as they collided into the insides of the traps.

"And that's how it's done!" shouted Sycamore as the last monster was entrapped. "Take a good look, Hero Association, as to how an actual hero could work!" He looked over at the camera and winked, his grin spreading wider than ever.

Then the video stopped, freezing back on a snarky Sycamore.

"He's got quite the ego, doesn't he?" asked Flashy Flash.

"Yes, and more people are starting to find out about him," said Sitch. "He's already dispatched of various tiger level monsters, multiple demons, and according to a few sources, at least a couple dragons."

More murmurs and glances amongst the heroes. Tatsumaki sat quiet.

"So we know he's powerful," said Sitch. "Especially since he dispatches these monsters with ease. Thus far, he hasn't been violent towards any heroes or civilians, and is starting to…get a bit of a reputation as a result. And we're afraid, that along with the Neo Heroes, this too might damage our reputation."

"Well, so long as he's just hunting monsters, he doesn't seem so bad to me," said Pig God, right before he stuffed a donut into his mouth.

"Yes," said Sitch. "But as he does so, he has been demeaning all heroes as well as our organization. According to him, he's going to hunt down every monster until they are all gone, but such a task seems impossible…"

"Nonsense," said Atomic Samurai. "It would take a godlike entity to be able to do something like that."

"Well, that was what we were just talking to Miss Tornado about," said Sitch. "The being that attacked our headquarters not long ago appears to be of the same species. Miss Tatsumaki, perhaps you could elaborate on how strong the former being was?"

Tatsumaki blinked, for a moment unaware of what was happening. She tore her gaze from the still image of Sycamore back over to Sitch and swallowed as she noticed all the other heroes were looking at her. They could probably see how pale she was.

"We would need to call in Blast if things go bad," said Tatsumaki. "I…I wouldn't rely too heavily on me."

Worried looks from all the heroes, many of whom were utterly shocked to hear Tatsumaki say something like that.

"I see," said Sitch. "Well, we'll need to keep Blast close by, if we can reach him that is…"

The rest of the meeting went by in a blur for Tatsumaki, her head pounding every time she looked back over at the image of Sycamore. She excused herself several times throughout the meeting, making her way to a restroom and gazing at her pallid face in the mirror. No matter how many times she splashed water into her face, she couldn't make herself wake up from this nightmare. Sighing, she returned back to the meeting room, and was quiet until the assembly ended.

As Sitch signaled the ending for the meeting, all of the heroes rose to exit the room, and Tatsumaki stared down at the table as they passed. Wiping at her face, she got up along with the group and followed them out of the room. The image of Sycamore raced around in her head, creating a dark tornado of fire which engulfed her mind. Shaking her head, Tatsumaki did her best to keep going forward, ignoring anyone who might be in her way.

 _Just have to keep him safe,_ she thought. _Him and Fubuki, just have to make sure they're ok…_

Up ahead, she spotted a man in a flowing robe wandering with the rest of the hero group. Pushing her swirling thoughts away as best she could, she remembered something as she neared the stern samurai.

"You," she said, pointing to Atomic Samurai.

"Eh?" asked the swordsman. "Oh, Tornado. What can I do for you?"

"You haven't done what I told you to do," said Tatsumaki. She crossed her arms at him, irritation flickering across her face.

"What?" asked Atomic Samurai. He frowned at the esper as the rest of the group walked past them and disappeared down a series of steps.

"You haven't apologized to Secter," said Tatsumaki.

"What on earth? You're still on about that?"

"Yes! I told you to do it, since no one gets to go around and hurt him like that. No one, you understand me? No one." At the last couple of words Atomic Samurai could've sworn he saw Tatsumaki's eyes turn black.

"Did he really care all that much about what I said?" asked Atomic Samurai. "And you really do respect him that much, don't you."

"Yes, I respect him more than anyone else, by a long shot. And he didn't care about you, but what you said…led to some bad things."

"Fine, fine," said Atomic Samurai. "If this still means so much to you, and this Secter is half the man you say he is, then I'll do it."

"Good! Go do it now, he should be right outside."

Atomic Samurai straightened up in surprise, anger flashing behind his corneas.

"Don't keep me waiting," said Tatsumaki. "Go."

Sighing, Atomic Samurai climbed down the steps, silently muttering to himself so as the esper behind him wouldn't hear. Tatsumaki watched as he left through the front entrance, spotted Secter leaning up against a nearby wall, and began to talk to him. Tatsumaki couldn't make out what he was saying, but it left a shocked look on Secter's face. Then, quickly as he had began, Atomic Samurai left, his robe whipping around in the wind as he went.

Tatsumaki headed outside and looked up at Secter, who turned to meet her gaze.

"Did you…did you do that?" he asked. "Made him apologize?"

"Yes," said Tatsumaki. "No one gets to hurt you like that and get away with it."

Secter felt his chest burn with a fiery warmth, and he resisted the urge to walk over and swing Tatsumaki up in a flying embrace, lest others saw.

"You're always looking out for me, aren't you," said Secter.

"Of course!" said Tatsumaki. "We…we take strength from each other, Secter. I'm not going to allow anyone to put you down, because it hurts me just as much."

Secter smiled at her, the biggest he had made in a while.

"Love you Tatsu," he said.

Tatsumaki blushed a little and smiled back.

"I love you too," she said.

They walked away from the headquarters together, Secter wondering what the meeting was about the entire time they made their way back.

. . .

"Another day, another victory for the illustrious Sycamore!" said Sycamore as he watched ten more of his traps rise into the air. Not far from where he stood was a crowd of people, all staring with awe in their eyes as what used to be a group of monsters vanished from sight.

"Who is that?" came a voice from the crowd.

"Sycamore's the name," he said, turning to face the people arranged by the surrounding coffee shops and stores. "And I'm here to get rid of all monsters."

Shocked glances and whispers throughout the group. Sycamore grinned at them as he strode by, his posture just as confident as his expression. He marched through the streets, dozens of people watching and admiring the being who had just single-handedly taken out a couple of dragon level threats along with several other levels of monster. As he went along, a small group of followers in hand, he spotted a massive, flashing yellow sign that adorned the front of a tall building just ahead.

CASINO

"Well, well well," said Sycamore. "Just the kind of glitzy place for a man of high class like me." He strode into the place and was greeted with the sight of dozens of people in formal attire, shiny dresses and sterling suits along with golden tapestries on the walls and a bright red carpet covering the floor. Sycamore gasped at the place, his grin turning to a look of pure astonishment at the sheer fanciness of the establishment. Running over to the chip counter, he fetched a stack of money which he materialized in one of his suit pockets. Pushing it into the cashier's chest, the man bolted upright as Sycamore came into view.

"Cashing in!" yelled Sycamore. "Get me into one of these games!"

"You…you're not a monster, right?" asked the cashier.

"Of course not, now just get me the chips!"

"Oh, I know who you are, you're that Sycamore guy!"

"The one and only. Now, chips!"

"Wow, you've already gotten rid of so many monsters, you're basically a high-class hero now!"

"Chips!"

"Oh, sorry Mister Sycamore, I'll get right on it."

The cashier withdrew the money and pulled out several stacks of colorful tokens, before pushing them over to an impatient Sycamore. The alien snatched up the tokens, and before the cashier could get another word in, Sycamore went running to the nearest available blackjack table. Slamming his chips on the table, Sycamore made a bet to the astonished dealer, and a hesitant game was started. All around Sycamore, people turned to watch the alien as he sat down at the blackjack table, a sly grin on his face as he watched the dealer shuffle the deck of cards.

"What's the maximum bet?" asked Sycamore.

"It's…five hundred," said the dealer.

"Perfect," said Sycamore. "We'll start with that."

He tossed a few chips from his stack towards the dealer, each one clattering and rolling across the table.

"Is that the Sycamore guy?" asked someone from behind him.

"I…think so," said another patron. "Not sure if he's HA or Neo Heroes."

Sycamore whipped around in his seat, his face burning with irritation.

"Neither!" he yelled. "Both of those groups are useless. Trust me, you'll see soon enough."

The whispering customers jumped back at Sycamore's sudden movement, one of them bumping into a slot machine and nearly falling over. Sycamore grimaced at the crowd before turning back to his newly dealt cards. Examining his total along with the dealer's, he gave the sweating casino worker a smirk.

"Hit me!" said Sycamore. "I can feel I'm going to be on a roll tonight!"

 _Ah, this is my kinda place,_ thought Sycamore. _Nice suits, fancy decorations, a far cry from the shitholes back in my so called "home." Ah, a man could get used to this sort of thing, even if it is filled with human degenerates._

He watched as his next card was dealt. Bust.

 _Motherfucker,_ he thought. _Ah, it's fine, it's fine. A little hiccup or two is bound to happen, I still got this._

"Same bet," said Sycamore. "Deal another."

A few cards later. Bust.

"God fucking dammit," said Sycamore. Straightening himself up in his seat, he took a deep breath.

 _Just collect yourself Sycamore, this kinda life's the one for you someday,_ he thought. _Heh heh, living it up as a hero, won't I? I guess whether these humans are still around or not is kinda irrelevant, but we'll just have to see…_

"Are…are you still playing sir?" asked the dealer.

"Another five hundred," said Sycamore.

The deal went on, Sycamore watching each card as it was slid towards him on the table. This time he started off with a total of seventeen, an excellent start.

"Now that's more like it," said Sycamore. "I was worried I was gonna have to start beating on you, eh dealer?" He chuckled, but by the look on the dealer's face, he did not share the amusement.

"Alright, alright," said Sycamore. "You know what? I think I'm going to bet double for this. Have some more."

He took a chunk out from his stack, which had already diminished a decent amount by now. Flipping a chip between his fingers, he pushed the remainder of his bet to the dealer, who carefully reached out to take it.

The next card was an ace, allowing Sycamore to bring his total up to eighteen.

"Not bad, not bad," he said. "But let's go big or go home, shall we? Hit me, once more!"

A four. The exact number needed for him to bust. Sycamore's mouth hung open as the card was flipped over for him, and the dealer let out a little gasp as well. Fury began to build up in Sycamore's mind, and he resisted the urge to punch the table as he gnashed his teeth together.

"Alright!" he yelled. "I'm exceeding the max bet limit! I want to bet five thousand on this next hand!" He shoved a stack of his chips to the dealer, whose face went pale as the colorful tower reached his side of the table.

"But…but sir, the max bet is five hun-"

Sycamore leaned over the table, until his face was inches away from the dealer's. The man squeaked in fear.

"I do not care what your rules are, deal me in this hand with that exact bet or I'll smash your head into the pavement!" yelled Sycamore. "Deal me in!"

"Alright, alright, anything you want," said the dealer. "Just please, calm down…"

Sycamore leaned back in his seat. From behind him, he could hear the concerned and confused whispers of the onlookers, many of whom wondered if the being sitting in the chair of them was truly a hero or not.

Sycamore snarled as his cards came out. Another seventeen.

"Fantastic," he said, voice soaked in annoyance. "Hit me."

A ten. Bust.

 _Hahahahaha,_ thought Sycamore. _Oh, this is just fucking great!_

Someone snickered at Sycamore's poor luck. The sound broke Sycamore out from his thoughts, and he whipped around, his eyes scanning for the culprit.

"Who the hell-" he said. "You goddamned human degenerates, you shut your damned mouths before I wreck this place with you in it! Go on, scram! Get out of here! Laughing at my goddamned luck, go play your own fucking games."

The crowd behind him began to disperse, many of them casting worried looks back over at the dealer who sat in front of Sycamore. The man's face was pale as he silently pleaded for the game to end, and he watched in agony as some of the customers left through the front doors of the casino.

"Hey, dealer," said Sycamore.

"Y-yes?" asked the man.

"One more bet," said Sycamore. "But I'm going all in. There should be another ten thousand right there, I was feeling light tonight."

"But sir, it's five hun-"

"You took the first bet, now you'll take the second!" shouted Sycamore. "If you don't take it, then I'll rip this whole casino apart!"

"Y-yes sir," said the dealer. "Please don't destroy anything, we truly appreciate you as a hero, and even heroes get bad luck sometimes…"

"Yes, that's exactly right," said Sycamore. "A good way to put it. Now, _deal._ "

The cards were dealt, with Sycamore getting a sixteen in total. He stared down at his hand, contemplating his next move.

"Hit me," said Sycamore.

The dealer gave a small nod and reached down to the deck. As his fingers scraped the top of the pile of cards, Sycamore squinted at the top one. In an instant, the stylized and detailed face of a king morphed into a set of five hearts, melting from one image to another right as the dealer grasped the end of the card.

Flipping it up, the five of hearts was set on Sycamore's side, and Sycamore chuckled as he saw his victory with a perfect twenty one.

"Now there we go!" said Sycamore. "Luck's finally starting to change, wouldn't you say dealer?"

The dealer wiped at the sweat pouring down his neck but nodded. Unconvinced, Sycamore decided to look into the man's mind for further analysis.

 _I wonder if he cheated,_ thought the dealer. _Not sure how he could, but he does have the power to beat all those dra-_

Sycamore launched himself across the table, sending cards and chips flying in his wake. He wrapped his shadowy hands around the dealer's neck, the man hardly able to let out a scream as his breath was cut short in a deadly grip.

"What did you just say?" asked Sycamore. "What was that?"

"I…didn't say…" the dealer struggled to get out even a single word, his esophagus squeezing tighter and tighter as Sycamore crushed it in his hold.

"Stop right there!" shouted someone from the side of Sycamore.

Sycamore blinked, confusion swirling in his brain. Turning to the sound of the voice, he spotted a man wearing brown plated armor and holding a bike standing at the entrance to the casino. Sycamore raised an eyeline at the man, before dropping the dealer into his seat.

Snapping upwards like a balloon in the wind, Sycamore strode over to Mumen Rider, the biker hero standing resolute despite the towering shadow of a being that was now before him.

"You," said Sycamore. "You're that Mumen Rider guy."

"That's me," said Mumen Rider. "And I think I've heard of you. Sycamore, right?"

"That's right," said Sycamore. His voice was calm, but there were glints of fire behind his eyes.

"Well I heard you were threatening the poor people of this casino," said Mumen Rider. "And I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He raised his chin at the ominous creature in front of him, staring directly into Sycamore's hateful eyes.

"You?" asked Sycamore. "You, of all people, are threatening me."

"Not a threat, just asking politely. You seemed to do some good work in fighting the monsters, but stuff like this is unacceptable."

"I can do what I want," said Sycamore. "I can do no wrong."

"Threatening patrons is wrong!"

Sycamore slid directly in front of Mumen Rider, lowering his face so that it was inches away from the shocked biker's. Still, the determined little hero would not move.

"You know what's really wrong?" asked Sycamore. "Seeing someone like you call yourself a hero. Seeing other people call you a hero."

Mumen Rider braced himself to fight, just in case.

"I do my best to help the community," he said. "I might not be the strongest, but-"

"Cannon fodder," said Sycamore. "That's all you are. And most of the other lower class heroes. Sure, your determination and bravery and all that noise is admirable, but at the end of the day, you are about as effective at your job as a pile of trash would be."

Mumen Rider clenched the handlebar of his bike, pulling it in closer to his side.

"We all do our part!" he yelled. "Some of us might not be as strong as others, but we can all still play a part in helping people-"

"Hah!" said Sycamore. "Play a part? You're the lowest actor on the totem pole, so unimportant you might as well not exist. You've got the first part of being a hero down, but you're so far from the second part you might as well not even try."

"First…part?"

"Heroism, or determination," said Sycamore. "The second part is effectiveness. Almost all the _heroes_ on this planet either fail in one or both of these categories, and we'll see this big time when the monsters are finally gone. Those with determination yet no power will continue to be worthless at their jobs, and those with effectiveness yet shaky heroism will use their power for their own good at the expense of others, for there will be no monsters for them to beat anymore. In other words…"

Sycamore slammed both his palms onto the ground, his arms extending out from the sides of his body to unnatural lengths.

"When the cards are off the table, the ones with the most chips will steal the pot," he said.

Mumen Rider narrowed his eyes at Sycamore, his heart racing. He refused to move, even as the words from the being before him swirled around in his brain.

"You…have very little faith in heroes," said Mumen Rider.

"Most of you don't deserve to be called as such."

"But you do?"

"Of course!" said Sycamore. He chuckled and lifted a hand over his chest. "I don't mean to brag, but I fulfill both categories quite nicely."

"Attacking innocent people isn't heroic!" yelled Mumen Rider. "If you have such high standards for heroes, why don't you try to live up to them as well!?"

Sycamore ripped his hand from the front of his suit, dark cracks snaking their way into his eyes as he snarled down at Mumen Rider. Hatred seethed from Sycamore's expression, and he clenched his fists as Mumen Rider took a step back.

"I'll show you about living up to your standards," said Sycamore. "You worthless bastard!"

Sycamore swung his arm into Mumen Rider's head, blood spurting out from his mouth as he fell to the side and collided with the floor. There was a loud crack as Mumen Rider's helmet bashed against the concrete under the carpet. Unsatisfied, Sycamore picked up Mumen Rider's bike as it was about to fall and raised it over his head. Jerking his arms in separate directions, Sycamore tore the bike into two, and tossed the crumpled metal pieces of the bicycle against the front wall of the casino. They crashed near a window before falling to the ground in a pathetic heap.

 _Ha…Ha…_ thought Sycamore. _I am right, you are wrong, you little bastard!_

Turning back from the wreckage of the bicycle, Sycamore watched as Mumen Rider struggled to get up, blood dripping from the side of his face where he had landed on the concrete. Mumen Rider gasped as his arms failed him in his efforts, and he looked over where his ruined bike was with an expression of despair. For a second, Sycamore smirked at the sight of Mumen Rider's plight, but the longer he stared, the more he felt a sense of nausea overcome his stomach. His smile turning to a grimace, Sycamore laid a hand across his midsection as his insides seemed to twist and turn on their own.

"Ugh," said Sycamore. "Well…that will teach you…just how useless you really are."

Displeased at the state of his insides, Sycamore swiveled away from Mumen Rider and strode towards the entrance, ignoring the stares he got from all the remaining patrons. He left the building and stepped outside, snarling at the sudden rainstorm that was drenching the street in shiny sheets of water. Muddling his way through the rain, Sycamore sighed as he thought back to the determined little man who had challenged him. He wasn't entirely sure why, but as he walked he couldn't help but groan as he recalled an the image of the bloodied hero sitting on the ground, by this point likely trying to piece his broken bike back together.

 _Perhaps…I went a bit too far,_ thought Sycamore. _Perhaps…_

"You!" yelled Mumen Rider from behind him.

Sycamore turned around, one eyeline raised as he spotted Mumen Rider following him through the rain. In one hand he clutched the tattered remains of his bike, twisted and broken from Sycamore's sheer might. Guilt started to eat away at Sycamore, and while he despised it, he didn't fight back.

"I…wasn't…done," said Mumen Rider. Blood still poured from a gash on his head, clearly visible due to the fact that his helmet was missing.

"Just go home kid," said Sycamore, his voice grim and heart heavy. "Nothing more for you here."

"No!" said Mumen Rider. "You get all obsessed about calling yourself a hero, but you attack people and try to drag us down. You'll never be a hero at that rate!"

Sycamore's hands balled into fists again, but he couldn't find the rage to have them stay that way. He relaxed them back into open palms.

"Look, what I did was…unsportsmanlike," said Sycamore. "Sometimes I get a bit carried away if I think I'm…losing, I suppose."

"I can see that," said Mumen Rider. "But now you have to pay for what you did."

Sycamore shook his head.

"Alright, alright, I'll do something about this," said Sycamore. "You have…some determination, Mumen Rider. Reminds me of when I was younger."

Mumen Rider gave Sycamore a confused look.

"Hold still for a second," said Sycamore. He reached into suit to grab something from an inside pocket. At the sight of this, Mumen Rider stiffened, getting ready to drop his bike if he needed to dodge an incoming projectile.

Instead, Sycamore pulled out a glowing bandage roll and tossed it to Mumen Rider, who caught it before it fell to the watery ground below.

"That'll help your head," said Sycamore. "And…I suppose one other thing."

Sycamore snapped his fingers, and in an instant, Mumen Rider's bike pieced itself back together, metal bars reattaching and gluing themselves together until the bike was good as new.

"Don't lose your determination kid," said Sycamore. "It might just help you even when the rest of the people on this earth make the place go to shit."

Mumen Rider was staring down at his newly repaired bike, incredulous. He turned back to Sycamore, unsure of what he meant with his previous statement.

"Well…thanks, I suppose," said Mumen Rider. "For fixing my bike. But why…why did you attack me in the first place then? Why are you doing all this?"

"Don't worry about it too much," said Sycamore. "If I were you, I would find a good little job and settle down while you can."

"What? What for?"

"You'll see one day. And maybe, just maybe, you'll agree with me on the heroes. It takes a certain kind of person to be a great one, and there might not be as many as you think."

"Well, maybe you're just looking at it in the wrong way."

Sycamore sighed.

"Possibly, but I highly doubt it," he said. "So long, Mumen Rider."

Mumen Rider watched as Sycamore began to shuffle into the rain, his dark form growing distant as the water blocked his shape from view.

. . .

Secter sat at the edge of the bed, doing the best he could to rub the sleep from his eyes. He scratched at his bare stomach as he yawned, his fingers finding a mix of old scar tissue and muscle.

Out from the bathroom strode Tatsumaki, her hair dripping wet despite being encased in a towel, and another towel hiding her body up to her armpits. Her eyes were gloomy and she shuffled over to Secter as if she had just woken up from a terrible dream.

"You alright Tatsu?" he asked. "You look a bit off."

"I…I just think it was the meeting we had yesterday," she said. "It was about Sycamore, and I saw his face on a monitor."

"Oh."

"And I think…that just seeing his face set something off in me," she said. "He looked kind of like the Commandant, only less twisted, and it just…ugh."

She plopped down on the side of the bed, defeated. Secter swung his legs around her and scooted over so that he was sitting right behind her on the center of the bed.

"I know, it's made you so tense and anxious," said Secter. "You even seemed kinda panicky after we left the HA yesterday."

"I just want that guy to leave," she said. "I don't care if he's just hunting monsters, I don't trust him."

"Me neither," said Secter. "Like I said, we'll have to form a group or something to keep an eye on him."

"Mmhmm," said Tatsumaki. Shoulders sagging, she leaned back into Secter, the top of her head burying itself into the middle of Secter's neck.

"Hang on," said Secter. "I know just the thing."

He shifted in his seat, and Tatsumaki leaned forward again, confused. She felt his hands on her shoulders, and she stiffened until Secter began to massage them. His hands pressing into her shoulderblades and upper back, Tatsumaki sank down and relaxed, even as her body began to shake a tiny bit.

"Ah," she said. "That…feels good."

Secter kept massaging her shoulders and neck, smiling as Tatsumaki's breathing slowed down and her eyes began to droop.

"Just…be careful," she said.

"Careful? I won't hurt you."

"No I mean, don't make my towel drop. Or…reach too far."

"Oh, oh," said Secter. "No, I wouldn't do that."

Tatsumaki sighed and shuddered as Secter ran his hand to the middle of her back.

"I mean…" said Tatsumaki. "It's…it's not as if I don't want to be more intimate with you…it's just…"

"No, no, I get what you mean," said Secter. "That kinda thing would be hard for you, I understand. Like I said, I don't want to push you into anything." He paused for a second, both his hands freezing on her shoulders. "Although…"

"What?" asked Tatsumaki, her brows furrowing as Secter stopped massaging her.

"Well, I didn't take this as a promise or anything, but I do remember back when we had destroyed the lab, afterwards we had talked for a bit, and I think you mentioned how you might want to be…more intimate I guess one day. Like I said, I'm not taking that as a promise, but I was curious as to why you said it in the first place."

Tatsumaki stiffened, and her face flushed bright red.

"Oh," she said. "Yes, I remember. I…I think at the time I just wanted to flirt with you a little bit, since I had just invited you to my house and such I guess I kinda wanted to seal the deal of us being a couple." Her voice grew quick and anxious as she continued, her breath shaky with every word. "I…uh, I was feeling confident I guess, at the time you had done something big with me and I felt as if you were really in love with me and wanted to support me, and I guess I…ugh, I'm turning into a mess here."

"No I get what you're saying," said Secter. "You just didn't flirt a whole lot, and that was part of the reason it surprised me. But I see how you wanted to try and get closer, although I don't know if you ever wanted to follow up on anything like that."

"I…don't know why you'd want to," said Tatsumaki. "I mean, I know you love me, I know you support me and want me to be happy, but…I just…am not that impressive looks-wise."

Secter reeled back from Tatsumaki, utterly baffled.

"What?" he asked. "That's completely ridiculous."

"Look, I know you want me to feel better, but it's just the way it is-"

Tatsumaki was cut off by Secter wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a deep embrace. She gasped as Secter kissed her on the neck, and she began to quiver as he massaged her stomach through her towel.

"I know I'm not really the best at getting all my feelings across," said Secter. "I know I tend to focus on connections between me and you more than looks. But that doesn't mean I'm not attracted to you."

Tatsumaki stared up at Secter, her eyes right below his chin. They shone as Secter smiled at her.

"You…" she began. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's simple," said Secter. "You're absolutely beautiful to me."

Tatsumaki's shoulders dropped, and she let out a tiny gasp at Secter's words.

"You…mean that?" she asked.

Secter pulled her up to his face, and Tatsumaki twisted her body around so that she was on top of him, both of her hands planted firmly on his chest.

"We're…we're close now," she said. "Careful."

"It's alright," said Secter. "I won't push you."

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Yes, I do," said Secter. "And honestly, I think you're really damned attractive. I'm more attracted to you than any other woman I've ever seen." He pulled one hand out from Tatsumaki's stomach and pushed it down from behind her towel, running it up and down her spine. Tatsumaki shivered as he did so.

"I thought you were more into people who looked like my sister," said Tatsumaki. "Considering how you said how attractive she looked."

"I did?" asked Secter. "Oh right, damn that feels like ages ago."

"Well, is it true?"

"Not really," said Secter. "I only want you."

Tatsumaki chuckled. She pressed herself further onto Secter, her body only separated from his by a thin towel.

"I, uh, I need to calm down a bit," said Secter, nervous. "My heart's going pretty fast."

Tatsumaki smiled at him and started to pick herself up.

"Mine too," she said. "But I'll be back in a second, I have to dry my hair."

Secter frowned as she started to get up, his hand leaving her back.

"Do you have to go right now?" he asked.

Chuckling, Tatsumaki leaned back down into Secter and kissed him on the lips. Secter wrapped a hand around the back of her head, pressing her further into his body and face. They kissed for a while, neither one daring to move until finally Tatsumaki pulled away, her breathing heavy and labored. She hovered over Secter, watching as he struggled to make himself calm down after she left.

"I really like it when we do things like this," said Tatsumaki. "When we kiss, and when you touch me. It reminds me that you really do want me."

"More than anything else," said Secter.

Tatsumaki smiled at him, but pulled away from him to get off of the bed. When she got to her feet, she headed to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Secter watched as she went, his heart still pounding from earlier. He pulled himself up and got off the bed, ruffling his hair as he went. As he left the bed, he heard Tatsumaki call his name from behind the bathroom door. Tentatively walking over, he opened the entrance to the bathroom and shut it behind him. Tatsumaki stood in front of the mirror, wearing a black lacy bra and underwear.

"Whoa," said Secter. "When did you get those?"

"A few days ago," said Tatsumaki. "You like them?"

"You look hot," said Secter. He went over to her and wrapped his arms down from her shoulders and around her midsection. Tatsumaki shuddered as he kissed her on the neck, and she lifted a hand to stroke his cheek as he leaned down to kiss her on the shoulder.

"Hot?" she asked. "I don't think anyone's ever described me as that before."

"Well, I am. Just…wow Tatsu. You didn't even need to get anything like this honestly to look attractive. You always do."

Tatsumaki giggled as Secter laid his chin on her shoulder.

"You always know what to say," she said. "But now, now it's time for something else."

"Hmm?"

Tatsumaki swung herself around, almost knocking Secter back if it weren't for her grabbing the sides of his head. She held Secter at half of an arm's length, her eyes making Secter's heart feel as heavy as a bowling ball.

"You're always making me feel good," said Tatsumaki. "But…I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you. I know I tell you I love you and all that, and it's true, but I wanted to tell you something more."

"More?" asked Secter.

"I think you're attractive too," said Tatsumaki. "And not just physically, I mean in a way that makes me want to be with you forever. Everything you've done for me, everything you've said to me, means more than I can ever hope to express. I love you so much, I would do anything for you, and I hope you know that even though I'm not the best at expressing my feelings, I will always, _always_ , love you from the very bottom of my heart. You're my favorite person in all the world, and I want you to always remember that."

Secter's eyes began to water, and he rubbed at his nose, sniffling all the way.

"Ahh," he said. "I…love you too, Tatsu."

"I know," she said. "I know."

She pulled him in for a hug, the two of them holding each other alone in the bathroom. After a while they separated, but kept their hands around each other's backs.

"I love our talks like this," said Tatsumaki. "I just didn't know you found me so attractive."

"Well, I had kinda hoped that all my getting intimate with you would've helped express that, but I'm glad to finally say something too."

"You really think I'm that nice looking, don't you."

"I really do. The fact that you would ever look down on your appearance is unthinkable to me."

"Well, it's…different for me than it is for you, but that's neither here nor there I guess."

Secter sighed.

"Well," he said. "What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know," she said. "Any day with you is a good day."

"Aww, thanks Tatsu," he said. "That goes for you too. But…oh! We should go to the dojo! I still haven't talked with Bang in a while, Christ, I don't think he even knew I got hurt by the Commandant."

"No, I guess not…"

"Actually, this would be a good time to gather a group of people to watch Sycamore. You think you can get a hold of Fubuki? And maybe she can try to bring some people she knows?"

"I mean, I can try," said Tatsumaki. "I'll bet she's heard of him by now."

"Nice!" said Secter. "See? We've got a plan, we can take care of this guy!"

Tatsumaki shook her head but couldn't help but smile.

"You're such a dork," she said. "It's just one of the things I love about you."

Secter rolled his eyes but smiled as well.

"Yeah yeah," he said. "But does that sound good to you?"

"I guess so."

"It's a plan then."

. . .

Secter pushed open the door to the dojo, Tatsumaki at his side. As he entered, he was greeted with a warm smile from Bang, who stood alone near his kitchen in the newly-renovated building.

"Long time no see Bang," said Secter. "How have you been?"

"Excellent, excellent," said Bang. "I've been getting plenty of new students as of late, and couldn't be happier."

"That's great to hear," said Secter. "Sorry I haven't been around as much, but I've been busy with some…things."

Bang eyed Tatsumaki at Secter's side, who had her arms crossed in a fruitless attempt to protect herself from the cold air that still rushed in from outside.

"Ah, busy with the girlfriend I see," said Bang.

Secter's face began to burn and he rubbed at his nose in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

"Well, yes," said Secter. "But there were other things as well."

"I won't push for information," said Bang. "I am only glad that you two seem happy together."

"Thanks Bang," said Tatsumaki, her eyes widening in surprise at the sheer kindness of the old man. "And I am happy with him."

Bang beamed at the duo, before heading into his kitchen.

"Do you two want anything?" he asked. "I'll be making tea for everyone later on, and I know how much Secter likes the tea."

"Sure I'll take some," said Secter. "Who else is coming?"

"Miss Fubuki, and I believe Saitama, King, and Genos," said Bang. "Surprising to see them here so often, normally one has to go to Saitama's home to get his attention…" He paused for a moment before looking over at Tatsumaki. "And anything for you, Miss Tornado?"

"I'm fine," said Tatsumaki. "But thanks Bang, you're…kinder than I realized."

"Why thank you," said Bang. "Feel free to sit anywhere you like."

Secter and Tatsumaki sat down on a nearby couch, the old television which was once used to demonstrate Tatsumaki's poor gaming skills still sitting next to a scarlet wall. She scowled at the device as the two of them waited. Eventually Bang came back over with a cup of tea for himself and one for Secter, which Secter took with a grin of pure joy. Bang sat down on a seat which he pulled up from a corner of the dojo, an old purple loveseat used only for when there was company.

"So," said Bang. "How are things?"

"They've been better, as you've probably heard," said Secter.

"Oh?" asked Bang, taking a sip of his own tea.

"I'm guessing you heard about the incident at the HA over a week ago," said Secter.

"Yes, I heard a monster damaged the place, possibly was even responsible for several attacks on heroes," said Bang.

"Yes, that was him," said Secter. "And well…the reason I hadn't been around lately was because I was the one to fight him. And he injured me pretty bad, almost killed me if it weren't for Tatsu." Secter wrapped an arm around Tatsumaki's shoulders, and she leaned into him in response.

"It did?" asked Bang. "I…had heard something about Miss Tornado being the one to kill the being, but I wasn't clear on all the details. But I wish that I had known, I would've visited or at least sent a card."

"It's fine, I was out of it for most of my time there anyways, and I'm ok now," said Secter. "But the main reason I'm telling you this is because of Sycamore, I'm guessing you've heard of him by now."

"Oh yes, I know," said Bang. "I've seen a little about him on television."

"Well, he's the same species of the being who attacked the HA," said Secter. "And they…are terribly powerful."

"Ah," said Bang. "Are you asking for my help in defeating this being? He hasn't seemed to have hurt anyone yet, as far as I know…"

"Well, we just need people to keep an eye on him," said Secter. "That's why we tried to scrap together a meeting today. I want to get a little group together to watch this guy, and report to me and Tatsu if he starts acting up."

"I see…" said Bang. "Just how powerful is this Sycamore?"

"He's already taken out multiple dragon-level monsters," said Tatsumaki. "And if he's as strong as that last being at the HA…not even I will be able to damage him."

"Oh," said Bang. "That's…that's serious."

A knock at the door jolted Bang out of the conversation, and he rose from his seat to go answer. As he pulled the door aside, in stepped Fubuki, King, Saitama, and Genos. Fubuki smiled at Tatsumaki and Secter huddled together on the couch, while Saitama dragged himself in with shoulders hunched.

"Normally I would be going to my favorite store right now," he said. "Damned scorpion…"

"Please, have a seat," said Bang. "So good to see you all again."

The entire group sat in a series of chairs around the couch, with Fubuki sitting next to her sister in the last spot on the elongated piece of furniture.

"So," said Bang. "Genos, King, Saitama, I assume Fubuki gave you some background before you all came here?"

"Yeah yeah that Sycamore guy," said Saitama. "He's an asshole by the way."

"He cornered us at the videogame store," said King.

Tatsumaki stiffened in her seat, her eyes going wide. Panic flowed through her veins as she began to speak.

"He did?" she asked. "And what did he do? Did he try to attack you?"

"No no," said Saitama. "Just called us out for not being heroes or something and just generally acted like a jerk."

He stared at Tatsumaki for a second, perplexed.

"What?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Oh nothing," said Saitama. "Just weird to see you cuddling up with someone like that."

"I do it because I love Secter," she said. "Get used to it."

Secter pulled her in closer, his heart pounding in his chest. Shocked looks were exchanged between most of the rest of the group, with even Bang surprised to hear Tatsumaki's words. Only Fubuki had a different reaction, smiling at the two and placing her chin in her hands to watch them as they held one another.

"Well alright then," said Saitama. "Go for it, I guess. Just don't get too touchy."

"Calm yourself," said Secter.

"Alright alright everyone," said Bang. "Let's not get distracted. We're here to talk about this Sycamore, and what we should do about him."

"Honestly I think we should just let him be," said Saitama. "Hopefully he doesn't go around bothering us again."

"He hasn't hurt any heroes as far as I know, or any citizens," said King. "He's actually destroyed some monsters…"

"Yeah, but he's the same type of being of the one that attacked the HA building," said Tatsumaki. "Pretty sure he's much stronger than me."

Genos leaned forward, suddenly much more interested in the conversation than before.

"How strong is this being?" he asked.

"Well, the last one attacked both me and my sis," said Fubuki. "And we were powerless to stop him."

"And you worried that Sycamore might just start attacking people?" asked King.

 _Oh God please don't tell me I might have to fight him,_ thought King. _Pretty sure that guy saw straight through me…_

"I don't know if he will or not," said Secter. "But I just wanted to assemble a group to keep a better eye on him. If Sycamore starts doing anything questionable, you contact me and Tatsu right away."

"If he starts doing anything questionable, then I'll punch him," said Saitama. "Should take care of that."

"Yes, just leave it to master," said Genos. "Although, if this being is as strong as you say, then perhaps I could test my own strength against it…"

"If you wanna get trashed again, go for it," said Saitama.

Genos looked downward at his feet.

"Perhaps you're right master," said Genos. "I just need to get stronger."

Secter narrowed his eyes at Genos before turning over to Saitama.

"A little encouragement now and again wouldn't hurt," said Secter.

"Well, it's the truth," said Saitama. "If Tatsumaki couldn't beat this guy, then…"

"He is right," said Genos. "Perhaps there is no point to trying."

"Well, let's not all jump to fighting anyways," said Bang. "First we must find this being…"

"It's tough, I hear he just shows wherever monsters are," said Fubuki. "I have my group on the lookout for him as well, but we don't see him often."

Secter shook his head, rubbing his chin as he struggled to come up with a plan.

"Tracking him will be hard," said Secter. "But I just want to establish a kind of communication system between all of us. We should all be on the lookout, and call one another if something goes wrong. Except for maybe King, I don't know if he wants to be a part of this."

 _I really don't,_ thought King.

"Why wouldn't he?" asked Bang.

"Because he has no pow-" Secter began.

"Cuz King is busy," said Saitama. "But I'm sure he'll help out."

"Yes, yes I will," said King. He swallowed a ball of burning bile.

"Well it's settled then," said Bang. "Suppose we should exchange numbers, and be on the lookout whenever we are out."

"Ugh, alright alright," said Saitama. "But only because you guys seem so worried about this Sycamore guy. He just seems like an ass to me, but if he's really that powerful then fine."

With the group in agreement, everyone started exchanging numbers with the exception of Tatsumaki, who sat in silence. When it came to be her turn to share, she shrunk into Secter's arms and glowered at the rest of the people around her.

"Come on Tatsu this is for the best," said Secter. "Remember, you agreed to this plan."

"Ugh," said Tatsumaki. "Fine. Just…only call me if it's for emergencies guys. Otherwise I'll only pick up if it's Secter or my sis."

"I wouldn't call you normally anyways," said Saitama. "No offense."

"None taken baldy," said Tatsumaki.

Saitama pursed his lips, his teeth grinding together in frustration. He opened his mouth to say something, but an icy stare from Secter convinced him to stay quiet.

A few moments later Tatsumaki had shared her phone number with everyone who didn't already have it, regret clouding her mind like an anxious mist.

"And that's that," said Bang. "Remember everyone, this being is incredibly dangerous, only try to fight him if he attacks someone-"

"I will likely not be powerful enough," said Genos. "I will call Saitama if things go badly."

"Hey, Genos," said Secter. "Don't feel bad if you can't take Sycamore on. A key part of being a hero is having the will to take on impossible challenges for the sake of others, even if you don't always have the capability to succeed."

Saitama looked over at Secter, surprised at his words. Genos showed little in the way of a reaction.

"Yeah…" said Saitama. "That's good advice actually. Even still, you'd probably be better off telling me Genos. Although I might be out shopping, so there could be a delay."

"Or you could just go to the aid of your friend since you can shop any time you want," said Secter.

"Ehhh, he's not really my friend per se," said Saitama.

Incredulous, Secter extended a hand and flipped it up as if he were waiting for someone to drop something onto his palm. Retracting it back, he shook his head at Saitama.

"Then what is he?" asked Secter.

"Hard to say I guess," said Saitama. "He calls himself my student, but I'm not that much of a teacher so…"

 _Saitama has more issues than I thought,_ thought Secter. _Awfully dismissive of Genos, and they've known each other for how long?_

"Well, I guess it's time to go," said Saitama. "Got some stores to hit, since my favorite one is gone now." He rose from his seat, the first to stand.

"Stores are all you ever talk about," said Secter.

"Oh believe me, he probably cares more about them than some of us here," said Fubuki, her arms crossed. "At least it seems that way sometimes."

"Is that right," said Secter.

Saitama did his best to ignore the stares he was getting from Secter and Fubuki, which was followed by another stare from Tatsumaki as she realized the implications of what Fubuki had said.

"Ok I'm leaving," said Saitama. "Call me if you need help or whatever, otherwise I'll just punch Sycamore if he starts doing evil things."

"Wait for me master," said Genos. He got up to chase after a leaving Saitama, with King close behind him.

Bang sighed as the three left the dojo and headed back into the kitchen with an empty cup in hand.

"He's still so distant," said Tatsumaki. "And kinda annoying."

"Yeah, he was about to say something I wouldn't have liked," said Secter. "I could tell."

Tatsumaki looked up at Secter, amusement flickering across her face.

"Would you have gotten mad had he called me a mean name?" asked Tatsumaki.

"I would've been fucking livid if he did that," said Secter.

"You're cute," said Tatsumaki. "Caring about me so much."

"Well, I just don't like it when people put you down like that," said Secter. "For obvious reasons."

Tatsumaki sighed, sliding a hand down Secter's chest. Turning over to Fubuki, she noticed her sister staring off into the distance.

"Sis?" asked Tatsumaki. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," said Fubuki. "Just a little worried I guess."

"It'll be alright," said Secter. "We'll keep that Sycamore guy in check."

"Hope so," said Fubuki. "But there's…other things too."

"Like what?" asked Tatsumaki.

"I…I don't know, other things that have been bothering me," said Fubuki.

"Do you want to talk about them?" asked Tatsumaki. "And maybe not here, maybe we can go get some food or something."

"That sounds good," said Fubuki. She smiled at her sister. "I'm glad you're wanting to listen."

Tatsumaki smiled back, puffing out her chest as she looked at her sister.

 _Don't worry sis, I can protect you both,_ she thought.

"Of course I'll listen," said Tatsumaki. "You're my sister, and I love you."

Fubuki let out a little chuckle while Secter smiled from ear to ear.

"I love you too sis," said Fubuki. "And…there is actually a quieter place we can go, little more expensive but they let you have a more isolated booth. Maybe we can talk there."

"It's on me," said Tatsumaki. "And if you don't mind, I still wanted to know what you thought about Secter's story."

"Oh," said Fubuki. "Well, I can try to give my reactions, but it was kinda hard, since there was so much."

"I don't want to push her," said Secter. "And you're right Fubuki, it _was_ a lot. So don't feel as if you have to share everything at once."

"Just…just a little," said Tatsumaki. "I just want to make sure you think everything right."

"Think everything right?" asked Secter.

"Look, I…" said Tatsumaki. "Just…we can talk about it later, ok?"

"Uh…alright," said Fubuki. "Let me get you the address of the place. Does seven work ok?"

"That's fine," said Tatsumaki. Secter nodded in agreement.

After giving out the information, Fubuki said her goodbyes and left the dojo. Secter and Tatsumaki did the same with Bang and left as well, both of them wrapping themselves up in their coats as they headed back out into the icy winds.

"Before we go to the restaurant, there's one thing I want to get from home," said Secter.

"What's that?" asked Tatsumaki.

"You'll see."


	4. Chapter 4

Secter and Tatsumaki stood at the entrance to the restaurant, a well-lit place with a black wood façade and golden letters exclaiming to all how many awards the entrées there had received over the years. Secter tugged at the sleeves to his grey sports coat, Tatsumaki nodding at him as he started to brush away some lint from the side of his garment.

"I told you it would look good," said Tatsumaki.

"Yeah, I regret not wearing it the one time," said Secter.

"You should've. But let's head in."

Heading inside, the two of them were greeted by a waiter in a tuxedo, who led them past crowds of people in thousand dollar clothing to a booth in the far corner of the eatery, cut off from the rest of the restaurant by a brick wall and illuminated by only a couple of yellow candles at the end of the table and by the stars shining down through the skylight above. Fubuki sat at the right side of the booth, taking off her white fur coat to reveal a black dress which hung from two thin straps that wrapped over her shoulders. Secter and Tatsumaki slid into the other side of the booth, and menus were distributed to all of them by the waiter. As the waiter left, Fubuki picked up the drink menu and started browsing.

"This is a nice place," said Secter. "Probably the fanciest I've been to in my life."

"I told you it was good," said Fubuki. "And great food too. And some fantastic wine."

"Wine?" asked Tatsumaki. "It's been a while since I had some."

"Just don't go overboard," said Fubuki. "Remember, you are pretty small and a bit of a lightweight-"

"I can handle a glass of wine," said Tatsumaki. "Sheesh. I know my limits."

"Alright…" said Fubuki.

After the waiter came back, the trio ordered their food and Fubuki ordered a bottle of wine, while Tatsumaki placed an order for one of her own. The waiter promised them their food would be out in no time and claimed that they could get a bottle on the house. Then he left behind the brick wall.

"Still odd to get special treatment too," said Secter. "I bet some of the lower class heroes don't get this…"

"It…kinda depends on the place," said Fubuki. "I know you're very focused on this stuff, but it's hard to change how things are…"

"Yeah," grumbled Secter. "But not impossible."

"Well," said Tatsumaki, clapping her hands together to bring her companions to attention. "You mentioned something was bothering you, right sis?"

"Oh…" said Fubuki. "I mean yeah…mainly it was just me worrying about my group. What you guys said back at the café kinda stuck with me. I want…I want to be a role model for them, I don't want to use them anymore. I've always seen them as my friends, at least deep down, but I never admitted it."

"Well that's great that you want to change how you act with them," said Secter. "I don't really know how you interact with them in general though, but if you were using them so to speak, maybe you should, you know, let them know how much you appreciate them or something."

"You know, I had been thinking about that," said Fubuki. "I…think I can do it. I've just…treated them as inferiors for so long, that it will be hard seeing them react the way they will I'll bet. I know they'll be happy, but they'll be so shocked to hear that kind of thing from me and it just seems so wrong…"

"So long as you end up doing it," said Tatsumaki. "Might as well start somewhere I guess."

"True, true," said Fubuki. "But that was really the main thing that was bothering me."

"Was the other thing Saitama?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Ugh," said Fubuki. "I…don't know how I see him. I used to see him as a potential friend, but his distant attitude really annoys me sometimes."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind talking to that guy more," said Secter. "He seems as emotional as a rock sometimes, but I don't know if I fully believe it."

"Good luck," said Fubuki. "Although if there's anyone who could get that man to change, it would be you two."

The waiter came back with their meals and two large bottles of wine. Setting one down in front of Fubuki, Tatsumaki gasped as the other one was set in front of her. It was over half the length of her arm and clocked in at fifteen percent alcohol.

 _That's…that's a large bottle,_ thought Tatsumaki. _Maybe just take it slow…_

"Christ Tatsu, you sure you're gonna drink all that?" asked Secter. "Not saying you should, but-"

"It's fine Secter," said Tatsumaki. "You worry about me too much."

"The same could be said for you honestly," said Secter. "But just take it easy I guess."

"I'll be fine," said Tatsumaki. "I'm an adult."

"I know, I know."

The waiter left the table, leaving behind a salad full of colorful fruits for Fubuki, a steak for Secter, and a plate of steaming rice and pork for Tatsumaki. Each one of them dug in, Secter tearing his steak apart as he ravenously devoured the meal.

Tatsumaki watched as Fubuki poured herself a glass of white wine. Following suit, Tatsumaki inched her bottle over her glass and tipped it downwards to fill her own, a goblet of red now ready to be drunk. Setting the remainder of the bottle aside, she looked back over at her sister.

"So…" said Tatsumaki. "Was there anything about Secter's story that you wanted to talk about?"

 _Just have to make sure she doesn't think the wrong things,_ thought Tatsumaki. _That she doesn't blame him…_

"Oh," said Fubuki, peering up from her food. "Well, I don't think so. Most of the stuff that happened to him was pretty horrible, and I certainly don't blame him for anything. Honestly-" She turned to look over at Secter, her eyes soft. "I think you were beating yourself up way too much for what had happened, and I'm glad that my sis was there to help you through things and talk to you. To see all this happen with my sis, especially with how closed off she used to be, was just amazing to me. I'm so proud of you both. For being able to change, for helping and supporting each other, and for supporting me too."

Secter swallowed down a mouthful of steak, his chest growing warm at Fubuki's words. He wasn't sure he would be able to find the words to let Fubuki know how much he appreciated what she said, his pride in Fubuki as a person swelling to astronomical levels.

"Thanks Fubuki," he said. "You're really a great person, and I hope you know that. What you just said…it means a lot."

"It does," said Tatsumaki.

 _Alright,_ she thought. _Crisis averted. Although I was skeptical she would've said anything wrong in the first place._

Time went on at the restaurant, and Tatsumaki continued to sip down her drink. After her meal was half-eaten, she started to swallow down her wine, and when the world turned fuzzy, she began to gulp it down. Her head began to sway and feel as if it had doubled in weight, and she watched Fubuki and Secter talk and laugh as she poured herself another glass.

 _Oof,_ she thought. _This is good, this is nice…_

"You're having another?" asked Fubuki. "You gonna be ok?"

"Just fine," said Tatsumaki. "It's good wine."

Secter raised an eyebrow at her, unconvinced that things were going to be fine. Yet, he continued to talk to Fubuki while Tatsumaki started to down another glass. Red liquid splashed over her lips as she guzzled the wine, an occasional giggle sounding off from inside the tiny glass chamber which encased her mouth.

"Oh Christ, she's chugging it over there," said Secter. "What on earth, she only had one drink!"

"I told you she was a lightweight," said Fubuki.

"Well yeah, that makes sense," said Secter. "But why is she drinking so much anyways?"

"All it takes is a little too much," said Fubuki. "And she can go a bit overboard. It's not like she does it often, but sometimes…"

Tatsumaki slammed her glass down on the table and eyed the quarter bottle of wine that she still had left. Her chest turned into an inferno, every heartbeat sending shockwaves of fire all throughout her body.

"You ok Tatsu?" asked Secter. "You look like you finished your food, maybe we should go home-"

"No, it's fine," said Tatsumaki. Her voice sounded like it had been through an ice cream machine. "Fubuki hasn't even had dessert yet, she said she wanted dessert."

"I…I didn't say that," said Fubuki. She chuckled at her sister, who poured the last of the red wine into her glass.

Secter on the other hand watched Tatsumaki with apprehension, the sight of her guzzling down the crimson liquid making his stomach flip.

"Alright," said Secter. "Looks like you're out. You want to relax a bit now?"

"You-," said Tatsumaki, swaying in her seat. "You're just worried because you had your own alcohol problem." She hiccupped before crashing into Secter, collapsing onto his shoulder and giggling all the way.

Secter winced at the comment, and Fubuki's eyes went wide.

"Uh," said Fubuki. "I don't remember hearing about this."

"I…I did," said Secter. "But I gave it up, for me and for Tatsu."

"He did it for me," said Tatsumaki. "Because he loves me."

"I do," said Secter. "And how much did you drink? Did you really drink that entire bottle?"

Fubuki glanced over at Tatsumaki's bottle, the entire thing see-through by now.

"Yep," said Fubuki. "The whole thing."

"My God," said Secter.

"Gimme yours," said Tatsumaki. She pointed at Fubuki, who raised a hand to her chest in confusion.

"My…wine?" asked Fubuki.

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. "Give it."

"No, I think you're good," said Fubuki. She chuckled to herself, while Secter rolled his eyes.

"Secterrrrr," said Tatsumaki. "She won't give it."

"I think that's a good thing by this point," said Secter.

Groaning, Tatsumaki pulled herself away from Secter, and reached out an arm. The half-full bottle of white wine next to Fubuki began to levitate in the air, before flinging itself over into Tatsumaki's hand. She tipped the bottle upwards and began to chug it.

Secter watched her for a second, too startled to move. As Tatsumaki started to see the end of the bottle, Secter pulled it away from her mouth and set it down on the other end of the table as Tatsumaki's grip slipped from the sides of the wine-soaked glass. She fell back in her seat, grumbling.

"Wow," said Fubuki. "I think this is the most I've ever seen her drink."

"I think she needs to go home," said Secter. "Tatsu, you want to go home?"

Tatsumaki stretched, her body outlined against her black dress. She froze like that for a moment before flipping over and crashing into Secter's chest. He let out an "oof" as she did so.

"Oh, we'll go home," said Tatsumaki. She giggled and raised a finger to the center of Secter's chest. Tracing it along where his heart was all the way to his collarbone, she giggled again and sent her hand up to his cheek, stroking her perplexed lover.

"We'll go home," she said. "And when we do, I want to see you out of those clothes."

Fubuki choked on a tomato she had been chewing on, spewing the slimy remnants back into her salad. Secter's face turned an even brighter red than the pieces that returned into Fubuki's food.

"Uhhh," said Secter, his face steaming hot. "I don't think so, Tatsu. You're a little drunk."

"Oh come onnnn," said Tatsumaki. "You said I was hot! I know you want to."

Fubuki was chuckling on the other side of the booth. Secter did his best not to make eye contact, but knew she was looking straight at them. He could feel sweat begin to emerge onto his forehead as it grew warmer.

"Alright, I think we're definitely going home now," said Secter. "Let's-"

He froze in place. From down beneath, he could feel Tatsumaki sliding a hand towards his belt.

"Nope!" said Secter. He grabbed her hand and lifted it back to his chest. "Let's just calm down, ok?"

"You two ok over there?" asked Fubuki. She had one hand over her mouth to try and hide the massive smile on her face. Secter sighed at her expression.

"It's alright, we're just gonna go," said Secter.

"Fubuki," said Tatsumaki.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Tell Secter to go to bed with me," said Tatsumaki. "He won't go."

"Oh God," said Fubuki. "I, uh, this isn't really my place…"

"You're right it's not," said Secter. "Tatsu come on, we're leaving."

"I did not expect her to get this handsy with you," said Fubuki.

"I'm not even close to done," said Tatsumaki. "When we get home, you're gonna see way more than the lingerie. Waaaay more. Waaaaaaaay more." She thudded her head against Secter's neck, sighing as she slid further down his body.

Secter's face was burning so hot that one could've fried an egg on his forehead. His vision began to grow cloudy and sweat crept from his armpits down into the sides of his undershirt.

"Ah," he said. It felt like it was all he could manage.

"Fubuki," said Tatsumaki, looking back at her from the human perch she was laying against. "Did you know Secter has a crush on me?"

"Why yes," said Fubuki, struggling to contain her laughter. "Yes I did."

"I think he wants to see me naked," said Tatsumaki. "I'm pretty sure he does."

"That's…that's pretty personal sis," said Fubuki.

"I know, I know," said Tatsumaki. "But do you think he'd be disappointed if I showed him myself?"

"I…no, no I don't think so," said Fubuki.

"Me neither," said Tatsumaki. "He's so nice. He won't even admit that he doesn't fully like how I look."

"That's because saying something like that would be a lie," said Secter.

Tatsumaki turned back to Secter and managed a sheepish grin.

"Oh hey Secter," she said. "I didn't realize you were there."

"You're literally laying on top of me," said Secter.

"That's good," said Tatsumaki. "You know I've never done it before right? I know, I know, it's embarrassing, but I wanna do it with someone special. I wanna do it with you."

"That's…nice to hear," said Secter. "Please though, for the love of God, can we leave?"

Fubuki couldn't contain it any longer. She burst out into laughter, a quiet but deep bout of guffawing escaping her throat. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and began to level it towards Tatsumaki and Secter.

" _No_ ," said Secter. "Do not record us."

"Oh come on, I won't share it with anyone," said Fubuki.

"Are you trying to embarrass me and Tatsu?" asked Secter.

"No, no, it's just…" said Fubuki.

"It's just what?" asked Secter.

"Well, I never got any moments of her like this when we were younger," said Fubuki. "Never her embarrassing herself over a boy, or her doing…I don't know, more _normal_ things. This just feels…I don't know, I've never seen something like this from her before."

"If you record this, she'll kill you," said Secter. "Don't do it."

"Just a little bit," said Fubuki.

"Secter when are we going hooooome?" asked Tatsumaki. "I need to lie down."

"Soon," said Secter. "Like, now."

"Good," said Tatsumaki. "I'm going to the bathroom first, and when I come back, you better be naked."

 _Please God,_ said Secter. _Why did I let her drink all that wine. Why?_

The waiter returned to the table, giving Tatsumaki a strange look as she crawled all over Secter. Setting a bill encased in black leather down on the table, Fubuki pulled her lower lip into her mouth as she drew the phone over to the waiter and then back to Tatsumaki, who was squinting at the bill.

"I got it," said Secter.

"You have no money," said Tatsumaki. "I got it." She grabbed the bill from the edge of the table, grunting as she twisted her body away from Secter yet refusing to let go of him. She pulled a pen out from the side of the black packet, and with a shaky hand, signed the receipt and placed a wad of cash inside. The waiter took the bill and nodded, leaving a mortified Secter behind.

"Ok," said Secter. "Now we can go."

"Ok," said Tatsumaki.

Fubuki placed her phone back in her pocket, satisfied with the results.

"Did you seriously record that?" asked Secter. He clenched the edge of the table with his hand, his knuckles turning white as he pressed harder and harder.

"A…a little," said Fubuki. "Don't worry, this is for my eyes only."

"What the fuck?" asked Secter. "Is that your entertainment or something?"

"Maybe," said Fubuki. She gave Secter a sly smile.

"Secter," said Tatsumaki. "Let's go home."

"We're leaving," said Secter. "See you later Fubuki." He lifted Tatsumaki out of the seat and carried her to the edge of the table. Tatsumaki giggled at him as he went. Reaching the end of the table, he set Tatsumaki down, but kept a hand at her waist as he guided her through the restaurant. Tatsumaki looked back at Fubuki and smiled at her, giving her sister a wave. Fubuki waved back, smiling at the duo as they left her view.

The two of them exited the restaurant, Tatsumaki stumbling over the front entrance steps and almost falling to the ground below if it weren't for Secter wrapping his hands around her stomach and pulling her back. Laughing, Tatsumaki pulled herself into his body and matched his walk as he moved forward, making it far more difficult for either of them to get anywhere.

"Were you trying to touch me somewhere else when you caught me?" asked Tatsumaki. She hiccupped.

"No," said Secter, his voice dripping with exhaustion. "Christ Tatsu, I thought you were going to get drunk, but didn't know you were gonna talk about…all this."

"That's why I like getting drunk sometimes," said Tatsumaki. "I say the stuff I'm too nervous to say."

"Oh," said Secter. "I…didn't know you really meant all this. Well, we're not doing anything tonight, but we'll see how you're feeling tomorrow."

"I'll feel good tomorrow if you make me feel good tonight."

 _Oh my God Tatsu,_ thought Secter. _Just calm down a little._

"Look, I'm fine with getting more intimate and all, but it's not gonna happen now, not while you're drunk-" said Secter.

Up ahead and across the lonely and darkened street stood Sycamore, who looked just as shocked to see them as Secter was to see him.

"You!" yelled Tatsumaki. "You're an asshole!"

"What?" asked Sycamore, his face contorting in confusion.

"Go the fuck away, go home!" yelled Tatsumaki. "You're not gonna hurt anyone here."

"What the hell did I do?" asked Sycamore.

Secter pulled away from Tatsumaki and pushed her to his side, but she clung on to him with her fingers digging into his sports coat. Sycamore eyed Secter up and down, before glancing down at his own outfit.

"Nice coat," said Sycamore. "And the hell are you two doing?"

Secter inched forward, just so that Tatsumaki might stop clinging to him. The attempt failed, with Tatsumaki tightening her grip. Across the street, Sycamore drew back.

"You stay back," said Sycamore. "I don't want any trouble with you."

"Neither do I," said Secter. "Just keep your distance, we're just trying to get home."

"Home?" asked Sycamore. "You…and her?"

"Yeah…" said Secter. "She's…"

"His favorite person," said Tatsumaki. "He loves me."

Sycamore blinked, his eyes growing wide. Somewhere deep within his mind, a circuit snapped, and he twitched as his brain struggled to recompose itself. For once, no words could come to him, he did not have an answer for the situation he found himself surrounded by.

"I do," said Secter. "But we need to go…"

"I love you too," said Tatsumaki. "Go kick that guy's ass."

"No, don't do that," said Sycamore. "But what was that? You two…love one another? She _is_ clinging to you."

"Look, now is a bad time," said Secter. "And if you try and hurt Tatsu, I'll fucking ki-"

"Must…must be nice," said Sycamore.

"What?" asked Secter. He felt as if someone had launched a brick wall into his face, there was no proper reaction for what had just occurred.

 _She is a human,_ thought Sycamore. _And the way she's looking at him…I haven't seen that with a Soulless or Volunteer in God knows how long._

"It's…rare to see something like that for a Volunteer nowadays," said Sycamore. "She's…looking at you."

Secter peered down at Tatsumaki, who was staring at him with drunken warmth in her eyes. He couldn't help but smile at her, but quickly refocused his attention to the Soulless across the darkened street.

"Well," said Sycamore. "You two have fun doing whatever it is you're going to do. I've got no interest in harming either one of you. Although… I do expect my damned gun back at some point you bastard, I've had it for a while, and I modified that thing myself!"

"Don't bet on it," said Secter.

"Oh, I'm a betting man," said Sycamore. "And as you'll see, I rarely lose." He gave one more look to the esper clinging on to Secter, his mind still unable to comprehend the scene before him. Sighing, he turned away from the two and began to walk the opposite direction down the street, into a shadowy alleyway not far behind.

"Home," said Tatsumaki. "Home."

"We're going, we're going," said Secter. "Just stay close to me, ok?"

"I won't leave," said Tatsumaki. Her head felt as if it had become a container overflowing with cotton. "Oof, we're gonna have a talk tomorrow morning, aren't we?"

"Yeah, yeah I think so."

Secter led Tatsumaki back home, making sure to steady her every time she was about to fall. They made it back to her house and found their way to the bedroom. Tatsumaki neared her bed as was just about to collapse down into it when her cheeks puffed out and she went stumbling into the bathroom. Alarmed, Secter followed her in, and found her crouched over the toilet, vomiting every last half-dissolved piece of pork that had been in her stomach for the past hour. Secter sat next to her on the side of the bathtub and rubbed her back as she retched. The night went on and on, but eventually Tatsumaki ran out of things to puke up and limped back to the bed, burying herself in a blanket as Secter laid down next to her.

. . .

The first rays of morning light shot over the horizon, and Darkshine took in a breath of crisp morning air, smiling as he strode towards a towering beetle-like creature that skittered around just on the edge of town. He flexed his enormous chest muscles, followed by slamming his giant fists together.

 _Finally!_ he thought. _By the looks of this thing, that monster is probably demon level at best, but I suppose it doesn't matter. Need to get some exercise, I've been patrolling all night and haven't seen anything!_

Darkshine reared back just as the beetle-creature chittered some unknown language at him and set itself down to ready itself for a charge.

"Get ready to witness the power of my-" said Darkshine.

Five tall grey columns appeared from thin air around the beetle, smashing it together like a humongous fist. Green globs and pale juices seeped out from between each of the columns, signaling the end of the insectoid. Then the columns darted off into the air, flying higher and higher until they could no longer be seen. Darkshine watched in shock.

"Sorry my friend," came Sycamore from behind him. "I just had to do it."

Darkhine turned around to see Sycamore standing several feet away, his hands in his suit jacket pockets and a glowing smirk on his face.

"You," said Darkshine, pointing at the newcomer. "You're Sycamore…"

"The one and only," said Sycamore. "Not having much luck on your patrol eh? Heh heh, guess you got me to thank for that…"

"You didn't need to take care of that monster," said Darkshine. "But thanks nonetheless, I suppose…" A hint of sadness tinged his voice.

"Ah don't feel so bad," said Sycamore. "You're actually one of the few people I'd consider to be an adequate hero. Yet nonetheless, it just might be time to hang up the cape, or…whatever the hell it is you're wearing. Actually, on second thought, don't do that."

Darkshine narrowed his eyes.

"You're saying I should give up?" he asked. "Never!"

Sycamore sighed. Taking a step forward, he brushed his arm through the air, and upon him opened a crystal clear portal, about the size of a large television screen. And just like a television, it showcased various parts of the cities in real time, dozens of little areas of buildings and street corners, each one under threat by some kind of monster or mysterious being. One by one, Sycamore walked into the frame and did the same to those monsters as he did to the one Darkshine had been hoping to fight just moments before.

"What…" said Darkshine, peering at the portal. "What is this?"

"Some of this is from earlier," said Sycamore. "And some of this…is real time."

"Real time?" asked Darkshine. "Hey…I recognize that street corner! How…how can you be there, but also here? Is that even possible?"

"Oh but it is," said Sycamore. "Granted, it's made…tricky by that Volunteer stalking around, but he hasn't done anything to stop me as of yet…" Sycamore gazed over at the rising sun, the light reflecting off of his already bright eyes. "Must be sleeping, or maybe he's actually alright with it…"

"Huh?" asked Darkshine, too enthralled by the portal to notice what Sycamore had said.

"Don't worry about it," said Sycamore. With a wave of his hand, the portal collapsed in on itself, crackling energy doubling down and down again until there was nothing left but a tiny marble-sized maelstrom of shimmering power. Then it was gone.

"You…" said Darkshine. "Really possess that much power…"

"Indeed," said Sycamore. "So that's what I mean, my friend. My methods…effective, efficient, and cause little to no collateral. There's just…no more room I'm afraid, it's all too easy for me alone…"

Darkshine stood tall, frowning down at Sycamore. The Soulless considered altering his height to make himself taller than Darkshine but opted against it.

"And you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart, hm?" asked Darkshine.

"More or less…"

"You don't seem too bad," said Darkshine. "Keep calling me friend, for some reason."

"You're more tolerable than most other so-called heroes," said Sycamore. "I like the relaxed nature, yet you take your job seriously enough to where you actually do things. Even still, keep those images I just showed in your mind Darkshine, the days of herowork will soon come to an end."

Sycamore stiffened for a second. It was time to go.

"Well, I must be off," said Sycamore. "Duty calls."

He dissipated, a grin forming on his face as his body turned translucent and then completely invisible. Darkshine was left scratching his head.

 _Could he really just take care of the monsters like that so easily?_ he thought. _He's crazy active with herowork, even more so than Tatsumaki…could this really be it?_

The thought saddened him, his heart turning into a stone within his chest. Turning back towards where the beetle once was, Darkshine continued walking, still keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

Meanwhile, Sycamore appeared in a different clearing not far from the outskirts of another city. Ahead of him was a single lonely hill, a few tufts of grass peeking out from its dusty sides. Dashing up the mound of dirt, Sycamore spotted Saitama giving a tired look to a bull-creature that only came up to his waist. Its little horns bobbed up and down in the air as it tottered on slender humanoid legs and raised its muscular yet stubby arms up and down.

"I am the greatest wolf threat to ever live!" it shouted. "Beware my horns, for they will impale many! I rode a bull once in my human life, and now, I have _become the bull!_ "

The bull-monster turned to see a looming shadow being creeping towards it up the hill. A quick wave of dread flooded through the monster, only to be replaced with relief when it spotted the back of Sycamore's head.

"You!" it exclaimed. "Fellow horn buddy! Come help me defeat this pathetic, no-horn hero, and…"

As Sycamore came into full view, standing tall and proud over the creature, it began to shake and quiver. It knew what this being was, the doom of monsters of all levels and all places.

"No…" it said. "I know what you are! You're-"

A columned trap small enough to fit a bicycle in smashed itself into place around the creature, bringing the end of the bull-thing's dreams. The trap shot into the air, leaving a tired and irritated Saitama behind.

"It's you," said Saitama, glancing over at Sycamore. Two bags hung underneath Saitama's eyes, and he slouched over as he leaned against the cool morning wind.

"Not enough sleep, Saitama?" asked Sycamore. He chuckled as he reached the top of the hill, standing just above where Saitama was.

"Sure," said Saitama. "I hear you've been busy, not letting a hero get in edgewise."

"Busy is a good term for it," said Sycamore. "But how have you been? The opposite?"

Saitama turned around, his cape flowing behind him.

"Nope," said Saitama. "Got places to be."

Sycamore frowned, displeased at seeing Saitama's back.

"So be it," said Sycamore.

Saitama took a few steps down the hill, before coming to a halt. Narrowing his eyes, he turned back over to Sycamore, who was busy staring off at the sun.

"Wait…" said Saitama. "You just got here not long ago, right?"

"Correct…" said Sycamore, his grin returning even as he kept himself angled away from Saitama.

"Then how'd you know…" said Saitama. "About City B?"

"I did my research before I got here," said Sycamore. "It's part of the reason I even showed up in the first place. Heh heh, and of course, I looked through a memory or two, if I thought I could get away with it…"

"What?!" asked Saitama. "You saying you looked through my memories?!"

"Yes."

"Stay out of my head!" said Saitama, disgust rising within his mind.

"Tooooooo late," said Sycamore, laughing as he finished his sing-song reply.

"Ugh," said Saitama. "You get on my nerves, I swear."

"Seems like that's hard to do," said Sycamore. He swiveled in place, his claw-like feet scraping the earth beneath him as he twisted. Facing Saitama with the sun shining at his back, Sycamore lowered his upper lip to make his grin thinner.

"You want to know why I dislike you?" asked Sycamore. "Maybe why I'm here?"

"No," said Saitama. "Not really."

"Figured as much," said Sycamore. "Though your indifference just further proves me right…"

"Oh what is it with you and being right anyways?" asked Saitama. "The other day you were slobbering over yourself just so you could insult me, you got a real problem buddy."

"I got a little carried away," said Sycamore. "I had some time to think of my ideas for this place, to become the person I wanted to be, to become…the illustrious Sycamore!"

"You're just an asshole who's good at hunting monsters," said Saitama. "I don't even know if you do it for the right reasons, you don't seem to think much of people."

"I'm not the biggest fan of humans, degen-" said Sycamore. His eyes went wide and his grin faded to a tiny frown. "I…I probably shouldn't use that term, shouldn't I? It's what those bastards up there used…" He began to shudder, his stomach starting to twist. Fear seeped into his mind, threatening to crack both him and his ideals wide open. Sycamore could not let this happen, he straightened himself up even as he felt like retching.

"Huh?" asked Saitama. "You mean calling people degenerates? Yeah, you probably shouldn't do that."

"Never mind that," said Sycamore. "Getting off-topic. What…what was I talking about…oh right! You!"

"I really don't have time for this," said Saitama.

"Ohhhh I think you do," said Sycamore. "You know, you owe the world much, don't you? The world owes you, yet you owe the world much…"

"What are you talking about now?"

"You've saved this planet, haven't you? And yet, you could be doing so much _more_ Saitama. You could be doing what I'm doing right now! Running across the whole planet, eviscerating every monster, you should be living up to your abilities! But instead you wallow in your own misery, and I _hate_ that."

Sycamore rubbed his chin for a second, thinking.

"Though to be fair," he continued. "It's not like you can teleport or be in multiple places at once eh? Perhaps I'm aiming a bit high, I have been around Soulless my whole life…"

"Look," said Saitama. "I still go on patrol. I still help where needed. Yeah I can be slow, but I show up when they need me. Otherwise the other heroes got to have work too. I know what you're doing, I know it's meant to be disruptive more than heroic. Which you know, doesn't that contradict with what you said? That a hero is supposed to be both effective and heroic or something? You don't seem to fit that second category."

"Don't shift the conversation to me," snarled Sycamore. "What I'm doing…it's important, it'll show the true side of humankind, that it…it has twisted views on heroism, and the heroes themselves are flawed…you, you are one of them! You could pull yourself up, find something to fulfill you, take out far more monsters and prevent people from dying!"

Sycamore doubled over, extending both arms out in front of him and curling his fingers upwards, as if he were about to receive an honorary sword for his heroic deeds.

"That is what I hate…" he said. "I…I pulled myself out of _hell_ to become a better person, and you…you just wallow and complain about how things won't get better for you…and I saw death, every single day, so much so that I became used to it…and you treat it almost the same way, yet you do not care, you are not aware of what your lack of action brings, it's sickening, it reminds me of those bastards back up there…"

Saitama was perplexed by Sycamore's words, but something about the way he seemed sickened intrigued him. Saitama took a step forward, thinking about what to say.

"That's what you're concerned over, huh?" said Saitama. "I mean, your stuff's not my business anyways, but that stuff about people dying…I thought you said you weren't a fan of humans? So why would you care?"

"What?" asked Sycamore, looking up in despair. Panic began to seep through his features, the shakiness returning.

"Yeah!" said Saitama, feeling a sudden wave of energy burst within him. His sleepiness was destroyed like a flimsy barrier as he witnessed Sycamore go on the defensive. "Why would you care about my inaction and mistakes if you don't even care about humans that much?"

"No…no…it's…I do care, but…they're misguided you see…"

"I wouldn't think someone who calls humans 'degenerates' would care about them too much…"

"Enough of that," said Sycamore. The weight of exhaustion was on him now. "My point still stands, you're not doing enough…"

"Honestly I think you're worrying about it too much," said Saitama. "And ignoring what I'm saying? I thought you were the guy who was always supposed to be right, don't you have a counter for what I said?"

"I don't worry too much!" said Sycamore. "I know the human casualty rate for civilians, what I'm talking about is just a flaw of _you_ , not of me. I…do care about humans somewhat, but I'm trying to get them to see just how flawed they are, when they destroy themselves after the monsters are gone it will be through no input of me…"

"Uh huh," said Saitama. "For as egotistical and cold as you seem, I think you do actually care about people…you wouldn't be bragging about yourself as a hero otherwise, you wouldn't be taking out the monsters so quick before they get to even a single person…"

"Ugh," said Sycamore. "Now I'm getting tired."

"Thought so," said Saitama. "Interesting though, I don't really know where you come from, but it sounds like it'd twist your views."

"I've become a far better person," said Sycamore. "Don't talk to me about twisted views, you good-for-nothing. I'm just more aware of death and suffering than you, your nonchalance towards others and your stewing in your own misery refusing to move on and get better infuriates me!"

"Nah I still care. I'm just…detached, I guess. Suppose I'll just have to work on it, eh?" Saitama shrugged. "If Tatsumaki can do it, and Fubuki, then maybe I can too. Maybe."

"Tatsumaki…"

"Yeah," said Saitama. "But that was a nice little conversation Sycamore, I kinda like this. I think you got good in your heart, you're just misguided. Just don't do anything bad, ok?"

Sycamore felt veins straining against the sides of his head. He clenched his hands open and closed while the insides of his head turned aflame.

"Not misguided," he snarled. "Not wrong. You'll see."

"Suuuuure," said Saitama, waving him off. "Whatever you say."

"You…" said Sycamore. "Your ignoring of my points, what I had to say…it just proves me further right! Borderline sociopath, you don't even care!"

"No I do," said Saitama. "Guess I just got a weird way of showing it." He turned to start walking down the hill, away from a frustrated Sycamore. "Keep up the good work Sycamore, you're saving a lot of people due to what you're doing."

"I…but…there's a greater purpose too…"

"Well I hope you realize that you don't have to prove something like that to anyone, you could probably just stick around as an active hero, and you know, be less of an ass to people and you'd probably have a good life here."

"Good life…" said Sycamore. He watched as Saitama's body disappeared from sight down the hill, then his bald head. "I…can make that myself, I did that with myself, I don't need your input…"

No response.

Sycamore's eye twitched. For all his lecturing of Saitama, somehow Sycamore didn't feel like he came away with a victory. The sky turning blue, Sycamore whipped around and headed down the opposite end of the hill, his hands still shaking with rage. Everything was muddy for him now, his brain clouded as he moved himself along like a zombie through the dirt. Perhaps he needed to just reevaluate things, make sure that he was ready for the next time he verbally sparred with Saitama, though the latter's indifference still enraged him, certainly it meant he was still right even in some sense…

No matter. Saitama was in the wrong still anyways, nothing had changed. Though for now, perhaps it was time for an easier target.

. . .

Tatsumaki opened her eyes, and light rushed in to set her brain on fire. Wincing, she sat up in the bed, one hand glued to her forehead as she ruffled her hair with the other.

"Oh God," said Tatsumaki. "I feel…awful."

She turned over to look at Secter, who stirred from his slumber at the sound of Tatsumaki's voice. Looking up at her, he frowned at her bloodshot eyes and tangled hair.

"Morning Tatsu," said Secter.

"Morning," she said. "What the hell happened last night?"

"Uh," said Secter. "Lot of stuff."

"Oh God," said Tatsumaki. She buried her face into her hands, every word she spoke being muffled by a mask of fingers. "Oh God."

"I'm not sure how much you remember," said Secter. He pulled himself up from out of the blanket, watching as Tatsumaki slowly ran her fingers down her face. Her skin stretched as she moved her fingers down, before finally she set her hands back to her sides.

"You want some coffee?" asked Secter. "Might help with your head."

"Yeah, that'd be nice," said Tatsumaki. "Thanks Secter."

"Trust me, I've been there before."

Secter left the bedroom and returned five minutes later with a steaming hot mug, setting it down next to the two tennis balls on Tatsumaki's nightstand. Smiling at the array of objects, he returned back to his place on the bed, while Tatsumaki took the mug and sipped from it.

"So," she said, as Secter shuffled his waist under the blanket. "What exactly happened last night?"

"Well, you got drunk obviously," said Secter. "And uh, you said some things."

"Fubuki was there, wasn't she. Oh God, what the hell did I say?"

"Do you remember anything?"

"I…I remember crawling all over you," said Tatsumaki. "And…I think at one point, I said something about showing myself to you or something. And…fuck, I don't remember if this was a nightmare or not, but I think after we left the restaurant, we saw a Soulless or something? Did that really happen?"

"Uh, yeah, we saw Sycamore."

"The fuck?!" asked Tatsumaki. She set her mug down on her nightstand, her eyes widening and her brain threatening to pound its way out of her skull. "What did he do?"

"Nothing really," said Secter. He crossed his arms over his bare chest, contemplating what he had seen last night. "He just seemed kinda afraid of me, and…almost envious of us I guess? He said that having a relationship like the one we had must be nice."

"Wait…really?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Yeah. Also you opened up by calling him an asshole."

"Oh," said Tatsumaki. "But did he not seem all that bad then?"

"He just looked shocked to me. But he left us alone."

"That…that's good. Well…what else did I say? Because I know I said more, I remember Fubuki laughing at me a lot."

"Oh," said Secter. "You uh, well, you made a lot of references to how you wanted to see me naked. And also said that I wanted to see you naked as well. And…implied some certain, uh, activities I guess you could say."

"I said I wanted to have sex with you in front of my sis," said Tatsumaki. "This is what you're telling me."

"Preeetty much," said Secter. "You were…a lot more open about this stuff then I thought you would be."

"Oh God," said Tatsumaki. She slid further into her blanket, as if the sheets down below could shield her from any consequences of her previous actions. "I…I didn't…that stuff was supposed to be private."

"Like I said, I didn't know you were even going to talk about that stuff," said Secter. "I didn't know you had even…thought about that sort of thing. Not that I mind, but part of me wishes you didn't have to feel drunk in order to talk about it."

"It's not that," said Tatsumaki. "Well…it…"

She sighed.

"It would've been difficult, but I had thought of this stuff before," said Tatsumaki. "I guess I just let some of it out when I got drunk. But I promise I would've told you about how I really felt anyways, it's just that the alcohol got to me first."

"I understand," said Secter. "But even still, you really had those feelings?"

Tatsumaki blushed, her face turning as warm as her head felt.

"Well…yeah," she said. "I'd…I'd be nervous if we went for anything, and…and I think we should just go kinda slow, but I wouldn't mind letting you see me…you know."

"Without any clothes?" asked Secter.

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. "Maybe not right now, since I feel kinda horrible. But if you wanted…"

Secter chuckled. He turned over to Tatsumaki, smiling at her. Tatsumaki looked at him and found herself smiling back.

"What?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I mean," said Secter. "All that's up to you, of course. But I definitely wouldn't mind. Actually…"

He leaned in closer, until his face was buried in Tatsumaki's neck. She froze, waiting for a second until she felt him kiss her on the side of the neck. Next he kissed her a bit higher, then on her chin, then on her cheek, before finally his mouth was right beside her ear. Tatsumaki's entire body was shaking, and her breath came in short stutters.

"I'd really like to see you," he whispered. "So long as you were ok, I'd think it'd be really attractive."

"Oh my God Secter," said Tatsumaki. She giggled as he kissed her on the neck again. "Calm down a little."

"What?" asked Secter, pulling his face away from her. "I'm just saying, I think you'd look really good with less clothes on."

"Oh come on," said Tatsumaki. "I look like a mess right now."

"Don't care," said Secter. He leaned in again, pressing his mouth against Tatsumaki's neck. "Want you."

Tatsumaki shivered, her heart pumping faster and faster.

"You…you feel the same," she said. "You feel the same."

"Only if you wanted," said Secter. "And we wouldn't have to go full on, we could do something smaller at first."

"Have you…done it before?" she asked.

"A couple of times," said Secter. "But not in a while. I'm definitely no expert on the subject."

"Oh…ok," said Tatsumaki. "Secter…"

"Yeah?"

"You can…you can touch me a little more, if you want."

Secter looked up at her, surprised.

Tatsumaki turned, a smile on her face. She did her best to hide the fact that her heart was trying to rip itself out of her chest, but her constant shaking gave away her feelings.

"And I wouldn't mind touching you a little more too," she said. Tatsumaki began to lean into Secter, aiming her lips straight for his. Secter began to do the same but stopped just short, his eyes widening.

"Oh," said Secter. "Uh, Tatsu."

"Yeah?" asked Tatsumaki. "What's wrong? Are you nervous?"

"Only a bit, but uh, it's something else."

"What?"

"Uhhh, your breath. It…stinks like coffee and vomit."

"What?" asked Tatsumaki.

 _Fuck!_ thought Tatsumaki. _I ruined it!_

"We probably should've thought of that beforehand," said Secter. He began to chuckle, his laughter barely audible.

"Yeah, yeah," said Tatsumaki. "I'll…be back in a second. You stay here."

"Alright," said Secter.

She left the bed and headed into the bathroom. Racing over to the sink, she flung a drawer open and snatched up her toothbrush. For the next two minutes, Tatsumaki ripped her toothbrush across her teeth and guzzled a cup of mouthwash into her mouth. Spitting toothpaste and mouthwash alike into the sink, she ended the fastest dental cleaning she had ever done and looked at herself in the mirror. Frowning at her ruffled hair and dark circles under her eyes, she pulled a brush out from a different drawer and started to tug at every loose strand of hair that she could find.

"Tatsu," said Secter from the bedroom. "Come back here for a second."

"Uh, ok," said Tatsumaki. "Just one second." She groaned as she spotted more strands of hair jutting out from the side of her head, and frantically brushed at them in a futile attempt to set them straight. Snarling at her uncooperative locks, she set the brush back down and left the bathroom, only to lie back down where she had been before.

"You really don't have to do that," said Secter. "You look sexy to me no matter what."

Tatsumaki's face flushed, and she rubbed the back of her neck as she settled down next to him.

"You're…you're really that excited for this, aren't you?" she said. Chuckling, she looked back over at Secter, a sheepish smile on her face. "You really want me to take my clothes off and all that."

It was Secter's turn to blush a little.

"Well yeah," said Secter. "But obviously only when you're comfortable. You still seemed pretty nervous."

"This is all new to me… But I think you could help me with it, and I _love_ how you make me feel. I want to make you feel the same way."

"Honestly, just the way you look at me reminds me that I'm loved," said Secter. "I never thought I would've found someone like you. Sometimes I still think that you're too good for me."

"That's nonsense," said Tatsumaki. "We deserve each other."

"I know," said Secter. He embraced Tatsumaki, and she did the same to him. They held each other close, their chests falling and rising in rhythm and their hearts pounding.

"Tonight," said Tatsumaki.

"Hmm?" asked Secter, his face buried underneath Tatsumaki's chin.

"Tonight we can try something," she said. "Maybe not…all the way, but something."

"Oh, alright," said Secter. "I'll uh, I'll remember to wear something nice."

"You're not going to be wearing anything at all, idiot," said Tatsumaki, laughing quietly.

"Ah, but you see," said Secter. "Stripping down is part of the fun."

"Oh," said Tatsumaki, her voice turning to a weak whisper.

"We'll take it easy," said Secter. "And can stop whenever you want."

"Ok," said Tatsumaki. "Just…Secter."

"Yeah?"

"Don't be surprised if I get kinda…anxious," said Tatsumaki. "This is pretty new to me, and while I do love you with all my heart and want to get closer to you, I might be…nervous at first."

"Trust me, that's normal. And I can tell you right now, I'll be nervous too. This will be the first time I've done anything that intimate with someone I actually am in love with, someone who I completely adore."

Tatsumaki giggled and pulled Secter closer into her body. She could feel the outline of his chest against her shirt.

"Wait," said Tatsumaki. "I just remembered something."

"Yeah?"

"Did my sister record me at all? I think I remember that from last night."

"Uhhhh."


	5. Chapter 5

Sycamore watched with indifference as several more traps rushed off into the sky, one eye half-closed as the steel clusters made their way out of the atmosphere. Dusting his hands off, he swiveled around to start heading back into the abandoned ruins of Z-city, not a soul in sight aside from the one he knew had been following him from behind a building.

"Come on out Garou," said Sycamore. "You can't hide from the master."

From a nearby alleyway, a man in a black shirt and striking silver hair stiffened, clutching at the brick wall he was leaning against.

"Interested in seeing how a real professional hero does things, eh?" asked Sycamore. "I'm sure you're real curious as to why I'm here…"

Garou stepped out from his hiding place, a skeptical look on his face. Various scars streaked all along the sides of his cheeks, and he eyed Sycamore with a look of apprehension.

"Been out monster hunting yourself, have you?" asked Sycamore. His grin spread wider and he clasped his hands to his hips. "How's that been going."

"Poor," said Garou. "Monster sightings have been going down recently."

"Oh, I wonder why that is," said Sycamore. He peered back at where the metal cages had been not moments before. "I sure do _wonder_."

"Cut the crap Sycamore," said Garou. "I know it was you."

"Ah, but of course," said Sycamore. "And to be honest, I was looking forward to meeting you."

Garou raised an eyebrow.

"Why of course!" yelled Sycamore. "Who wouldn't want to meet the Human Monster?"

"I'm not like that anymore," said Garou. "Been…doing other things."

"Yes, but I hope you don't think you're an actual hero by now."

"I'm…working on it."

"To be honest Garou, you've got the right ingredients for it, but you just fucked up so badly…"

Garou snarled at Sycamore, hunching his back over. Sycamore was overjoyed at the man on the defensive, much easier to work with than the person from earlier…

"I was wrong, ok?!" said Garou. "But I do hero work now. So get off my case."

"Oh you won't get off that easily," said Sycamore. "You have to realize just how badly you fucked up, and why that will always jeopardize your chances of being a hero."

Garou slid one foot back, readying himself into a battle stance. He raised his hands and flattened them horizontally against the air, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"You really want to do this?" asked Garou. "You're going up against the man that was the Human Monster at one point, the most powerful monster that's ever been!"

"That's nice," said Sycamore. "But I don't give a _shit_!"

Garou's sash flitted in the wind, his anger boiling as Sycamore laughed at him.

"And quit standing in that stance," said Sycamore. "You look like a fucking idiot."

"You're supposed to be a hero, right?" asked Garou. "A loner one though, like me. And yet you're insulting me."

"Because I'm a real hero, and you're…well, you're still barely climbing the ranks. And I do understand you a bit better than the others, but you're still just not even there yet. But don't worry Garou, I'm sure that one day you'll get there…assuming there's any monsters left for you to fight, heh heh."

"You really think you're going to kill all of them, don't you," said Garou.

"Oh, I could kill them all right now so long as that Volunteer doesn't interfere," said Sycamore. "But of course, I'll take my time, get my credit, and make sure misguided people like you find out what's truly going to happen next."

 _After all, it is getting close for phase two of the plan,_ thought Sycamore.

"Oh," said Sycamore. "And why don't you get out of that stance, eh? What, do you think that attacking me is going to make yourself more heroic?"

Garou frowned, but his hands crept back down to his sides and he resumed standing across from Sycamore.

"Tsk tsk," said Sycamore. "Come on Garou, what are you going to do once all the monsters are gone?"

"That won't happen," said Garou. "That's impossible."

"Uh, earth to Garou? Earth to Garou? Come in Garou, this is Admiral Common Sense speaking!" Sycamore chuckled. "Think about it Garou, how many monsters have I gotten rid of by now?"

Garou crossed his arms, his mind searching for an answer.

"Ah come on, you've been following me around almost since day one," said Sycamore.

"I don't know," said Garou. "Probably in the dozens. But there's always more, they-"

"Ah, ah ah," said Sycamore. "And yet sightings are going down, aren't they? And not a single monster, no matter how strong, has troubled me. If I were you Garou, I would put your talents to a more…ambitious goal once the sightings drop to nothing."

"I'm not putting myself ahead of anyone, even if the monsters die off," said Garou.

"Well why not?" asked Sycamore. "You did it once before!"

"That was different!" said Garou. "I did that to show the hypocrisy of heroes, but I…was misguided. And I guess…I didn't know what I really wanted."

"Well that's just sweet. Even still, I'd keep that whole hypocrisy of heroes deal in mind mister Garou, because we're going to see some changes here veeeeeery soon."

Sycamore laughed and started to swivel away from Garou.

"So long Garou," said Sycamore. "Don't get lost on the way _home._ "

The wannabe hero watched as Sycamore left, feeling nothing but contempt for the strange being.

Sycamore left Garou behind and made his way back to the next city, striding down a busy street like he owned the place. Left and right people gawked at him, some of them whispering his name and talking in awe about his deeds. Sycamore grinned something massive, beaming at the attention that surrounded him.

 _Well well, this is actually kind of nice,_ thought Sycamore. _I almost feel bad of what's going to happen to these fools when my plan is all said and done but on the other hand…it's not really my fault, now is it?_

There were crowds forming around him now, chattering and gasping at Sycamore's glowing eyes, his shiny suit, his posture which oozed with confidence. Sycamore radiated joy as he walked, until a little girl stepped to block his path.

"You!" said the girl, her black hair tied up neatly into two ponytails on the sides of her head. "Can I get an autograph?"

Sycamore stared at the girl, his body unwilling to move. Utter shock encompassed his face for a second, before being replaced with a shining smile.

"But of course!" said Sycamore.

The girl produced a tiny red notebook and flipped it open. Upon finding a blank page, she thrust a finger down onto the blue lines which adorned it.

"Right there," said the girl. "To me, my name's Zenko, and my brother Metal Bat."

Sycamore burst out laughing, to the point where his eyes started to water. Zenko watched him with impatience, as everyone else stared in confusion.

"Ah, Metal Bat you say?" asked Sycamore. "Actually, he's one of the few people on this planet I could consider to be an actual hero. So consider yourself lucky to be related, I suppose."

He materialized a black pen out of thin air and held the end to Zenko's notebook. With several broad, graceful strokes he wrote his name, each letter connected to the other by swirling sweeps of ink.

"There we are," said Sycamore. "Now run along."

Zenko stared at the signature for a second.

"You write weird," she said. "But thanks!" She turned away from Sycamore and ran off, a bemused Sycamore watching her go.

 _Truly I am a hero…_ he thought. _Damn it, I'm starting to appreciate these humans a bit more. Agh, can't let this get in the way, it'll mess up my plan! Can't let that Saitama bastard have his point…_

Other people began to mob Sycamore, each one producing their own notebooks full of the names of other heroes. Sycamore signed every one that he could, grumbling as he found himself having to write his name next to others such as Flashy Flash, Sweet Mask, Puri Puri Prisoner, Atomic Samurai, Metal Knight, and Drive Knight. When he finally signed the last notebook, he spotted another casino up ahead, its entrance illuminated by hundreds of flashing bulbs.

 _Let's hope this goes better than last time,_ thought Sycamore. _And perhaps this one has a hotel nearby, would be nice to sleep somewhere other than my damned ship._

Pushing his way past the last of the adoring crowd, Sycamore waltzed into the casino, unable to help but smile at the thought of all of the followers behind him.

. . .

"Everyone, I called you all here today for a special meeting," said Fubuki.

Her entire group sat huddled around her on the grass, each one watching Fubuki with anticipation. Some of the group held cold bottles of soda, while others helped themselves to cheeseburgers that had been cooked on a nearby grill.

"I…I just wanted to thank you all," said Fubuki. "I know I can be kind of distant sometimes, but I just wanted you all to know-"

From behind her, Fubuki heard a sliding glass door open. She turned around and saw the slightest sliver of a face poking out from behind it, one eye narrowed at her and a shiny bald head just barely visible by the darkened glass behind it.

"Fubuki, why are you in my backyard?" asked Saitama.

"Oh, I needed a place to hold an appreciation party for my friends," said Fubuki. "Hope you don't mind."

"You didn't ask."

"I thought you were kind of used to it by now, sorry."

Saitama sighed.

"Alright, but make it quick I guess," he said. "And what did you say you were doing?"

"An…appreciation party, for my friends," said Fubuki.

"Oh…" said Saitama. "Well…that's nice of you I guess."

"You can come out here if you want," said Fubuki.

"No thanks, kinda busy," said Saitama.

"Doing what?!" asked Fubuki.

"Stuff."

Saitama slid back into his way, closing the door behind him. Fubuki shook her head at the vanishing man, before turning back to her group.

"Well," she said. "I guess you all know why I started this party then…"

"Thank you Miss Fubuki!" shouted Lily, her mouth full of hamburger.

"Yes, thank you!" yelled the rest of the group in unison.

"You…you're all welcome," said Fubuki. Tears began to form at the edges of her eyes. "I…I just wanted to let you all know that I appreciated you guys, and that you guys really are my friends, even if I haven't treated you all so well in the past."

Silence amongst the group, until Lily was the first to stand. The white flower in her hair shone in the sunlight as she spoke.

"Miss Fubuki…" said Lily. "I think…we always saw you as our best friend, and our mentor. There were times when you could be a little mean, but we always thought you were just doing our best to teach us…"

"That's right!" yelled Eyelashes, standing up to join Lily. "You've been so good to us Miss Fubuki, teaching us and helping us and even bringing us to the dojo!"

All of the rest of the group nodded in agreement, each member rising to their feet.

"You guys…" said Fubuki. She wiped away at the hot tears streaming down her cheeks, schmearing them all over the side of her face. "Sometimes I don't think I deserve you guys…"

The group surrounded Fubuki, each one of the them clustering together in one big group hug. Fubuki tried to hug as many as she could but found herself getting lost in all the suits. She remained in the group for a while, smiling from ear to ear. Eventually they all separated and scattered out onto the lawn to play whatever games they could manage to fit into the tiny space. Fubuki walked with Lily over to a cooler, the latter bouncing in excitement over the ice cream bars that Fubuki promised would be in there. Fubuki opened the lid of the cooler, her eyes narrowing as she spotted several sodas and no more ice cream.

"They're…gone already?" asked Lily.

"I guess the rest of the group ate them all," said Fubuki. "Hmm."

"Oh," said Lily. "Well…that's alright I guess, I can just-"

"No, I promised ice cream bars," said Fubuki. "Tell you what, you stay here with the others, and I'll go pick some up. There's a store pretty close by, over by the casino I think."

"Ok!" said Lily. "Thanks Miss Fubuki!"

"You can call me just Fubuki," she said. "And no problem. I'll be right back."

Fubuki headed away from the group back into the house. As she walked through the living room, she cast a curious eye over at Saitama, who paid her no mind as she drew past. He was watching the television, a surprisingly serious look on his face. Fubuki raised an eyebrow but kept moving, making her way out of the house and onto the streets. Before long she had made it to the front of the nearest convenience store and entered the place. She passed rows of colorful magazines before heading to the frozen section. Eying a green box of ice cream bars, she began to overhear a conversation over in the next aisle.

"Yeah, it was that Sycamore guy…" said a stranger.

"Went into the casino?" said another.

"Yeah, had lots of fans too."

"Good, that guy deserves em."

"I don't know man, I heard rumors that he attacked Mumen Rider once or something."

"Really? Don't know why he would, Sycamore's got an ego but he seems like a hero to me…"

Fubuki straightened up, her arms numb with fear. She turned around to the source of the conversation and started to head out of the store, doubt clouding her mind.

 _Maybe I can just check it out real quick,_ thought Fubuki. _Just have to be careful…_

She left the store and headed into the casino, fitting right in with the rest of the patrons in her black dress. Making her way over to a worker, she asked the man in a white suit if anyone had seen Sycamore.

"Oh yes, he was led up to the VIP lounge," said the man. "Right up the stairs and to the left. I'm sure they'd allow a hero such as yourself up there as well."

"Thanks," said Fubuki. She headed up a velvet-carpeted staircase to the upper floor, and followed a sign to the VIP room, where a large man in a gold suit invited her in. Fubuki gave a nod to the casino worker and walked inside.

The VIP room was nearly empty save for a few workers standing at their respective blackjack and craps tables, each one staring at the table that Sycamore was sitting at. The air was smoky and thick despite not a soul holding a cigarette in the place, and velvet and crimson pillows lined several couches that bordered the dark walls. A few doors were hidden in the shadows along the back wall, all of which led to separate lounges.

Fubuki inched into the room, watching Sycamore as he snarled at the cards that were dealt to him.

"Again?" he asked. "What the hell is up with my luck today. You know what, after this hand, I'm out of here."

"Very well sir," said the dealer. The man looked as if he were ready to jump out of the window at any moment.

The hand ended with Sycamore slamming his fist on the table in frustration.

"Ugh," he said. "All of you dealers, get the hell out. Before I start to get irritated."

The dealers exchanged glances between themselves.

"Go!" yelled Sycamore. "And shut the door behind you, so that woman and I can have a chat."

Fubuki froze. The dealers turned to face her. She gave a small nod to the workers, and one by one, they left the VIP room, closing the door behind her.

"Hmm," said Sycamore, eying Fubuki up and down.

Fubuki crept closer, further into the light of the relatively dim lounge. Every step felt like she was walking further into her grave.

"You look a little like Tatsumaki," said Sycamore.

"She's my sister…and, my name is Fubuki," said Fubuki.

"Ah," said Sycamore, his voice tired. "Hello, Fubuki. By the way, the reason I compare you is because I saw Tatsumaki not too long ago, drunk out of her mind and with her…boyfriend, Secter."

"You…you met them," said Fubuki.

"Yeah, they seemed to have a nice thing going actually," said Sycamore. He turned back to the empty blackjack table, tilting his head from side to side. "Rare to see nowadays, hard for me even to understand…"

"You…didn't hurt them right?"

"No, I didn't hurt them you idiot," said Sycamore. "What's with all this noise of me hurting people. I would never hurt someone unless I had to."

"Unless you had to," said Fubuki.

"Yes," said Sycamore. "By the way, nice dress. Very classy. I can appreciate a bit of class."

"Uh, thanks," said Fubuki. "Why…why did you trap me in here?"

"You were following me I assume?" asked Sycamore. "What for?"

Fubuki walked over to the nearest blackjack table, keeping her shaky hands at her sides.

"I'm…just keeping an eye on you," said Fubuki. "Making sure you don't get out of line."

"Ohhhhhh, me out of line?" asked Sycamore. He rose from his table, Fubuki gasping as his head scraped the ceiling. "Of all people…"

"Well…" said Fubuki, a wad of spit coagulating in her throat. "You do seem to do good work with keeping the monsters at bay, but I know how strong a Soulless is, so we wanted to make sure…"

"You do?"

"My sis and I were attacked by one," said Fubuki. "It attacked quite a few people actually. Almost killed me."

Sycamore's eyes widened.

"Oh," he said. "I see."

He turned away from Fubuki, stroking his chin in thought.

"Why are you doing all this by the way?" asked Fubuki. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Eh?" asked Sycamore, looking back over at her. "Oh. I have my own reasons."

"Well, we do appreciate you," said Fubuki. "Even if you're a bit egotistical."

"Pssht," said Sycamore. "What can I say, I am the greatest. But…you appreciate what I do huh? That's…nice of you to say."

"You've probably saved hundreds, maybe even thousands by killing those monsters."

"A real hero…"

"Yeah, I guess you are."

Sycamore grinned at Fubuki, the sight of his sharp teeth doing more to unnerve her than ease her worries.

"Ah, it is nice to hear that surprisingly, even from you humans," he said. "A very nice change of pace…"

"From what? Were you in the war?"

Sycamore stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes gleaming. For a moment, he went silent, but regained his composure within seconds.

"Right, right, perhaps Secter told you about that…" said Sycamore. "And of course I was, we all were."

Fubuki relaxed her shoulders. Perhaps this was a chance to know more.

"Well," she said. "If you don't mind me asking…"

"Ah," said Sycamore. "Little to tell. The whole thing was a shitshow, the aftermath even worse. Everyone I know is either dead, missing, or a brand new person I prefer not to associate with."

"Oh-"

"Of course, I was up in the Nothing for quite some time," said Sycamore. "Surrounded by some awful people, constantly hounded by the Supremacy and other groups. A real shame…they were all heroes to some people at one point I'm sure. But ah, not so much anymore. A real shame…"

"I…don't really know about any of this," said Fubuki. "But you lost all your friends? I'm sorry to hear that."

Sycamore eyed Fubuki with caution, his body retreating from her. This was different than Saitama, she was showing actual care in her words and expression. Sycamore wasn't sure how to feel, both appreciative and anxious at the same time.

"Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?" he asked. "No one else bothers to ask, normally I have to explain it myself…"

"Well, you just…are curious I guess, and I wanted to make sure that if you did want to help people, that you'd feel welcome. Secter was kinda the same way, he wanted to help people out but he went through a lot of trouble at first. And he's helped both me and my sister big time, I can never truly repay him."

"I…I see," said Sycamore. "I don't normally talk about these things, it would be difficult for people like you to understand. Especially on this world…there was no war here, no post-apocalyptic wastes afterwards. And still such skewed views of heroism persist…"

"It's not perfect…" said Fubuki. "But nothing is. Even you might think you are, with all your bragging and such, but I heard you attacked Mumen Rider? Why?"

Sycamore snarled, his torso starting to twist like the gnarled trunk of an ancient tree.

"And you keep putting a lot of heroes down," said Fubuki. "Like Saitama. Why do you need to do all this? Do you really have to-"

Sycamore streamed like a black river over to Fubuki, who jolted in fear as she realized the alien was upon her. His face inches away from hers, Fubuki began to shiver uncontrollably as Sycamore's massive teeth gnashed at her.

"Don't question me," said Sycamore. "For I am never wrong. The only mistakes I make, are tiny ones at best. You cannot prove me wrong, you cannot threaten me, you cannot put me down. So don't try, or I will make you regret it."

Fubuki let out a little gasp, a pitiful cry of fear to which no human heard. The only recipient of the noise was Sycamore, who withdrew his face from the terrified woman as she backed into a wall behind her.

 _She really does look frightened,_ he thought. _Oh right, just like that other Soulless that attacked her and her sister… Ugh. Now I'm going to get nauseated again._

Sure enough, his stomach started to churn and Sycamore laid a hand over it to try and stifle any noises it would make.

Fubuki watched Sycamore start to retreat with relief in her eyes but stiffened once again when her phone went off in her pocket. She reached a hand down to retrieve it and pulled it up to her face, Sycamore eying her all the way.

"Your sister?" he asked.

Fubuki nodded, unwilling to speak.

"I scared you, didn't I?" asked Sycamore. "Ugh, I don't even know why I do such things. It's not like you could be a real threat to me anyways…"

Fubuki let the call go to voicemail and began to put the phone back in her pocket.

"Well," said Sycamore. "Regardless of my little outburst, I do enjoy the fact you seemed genuinely interested in my past…and such a woman of high class, no less. Perhaps we can talk again."

"No…" said Fubuki. "No thank you."

 _Wow, I really scared her,_ thought Sycamore. _She looks almost as afraid as I was sometimes…_

"Oh," he said. "Don't uh, don't take me getting angry too heavily, I wasn't going to hurt you…"

Fubuki gave a small nod and started to inch towards the door.

"Oh, yes, feel free to leave," said Sycamore.

Fubuki grabbed the handle of the door to the VIP lounge and flung it open, dashing past a confused guard and several heroes who were coming up the stairs at the behest of a group of card dealers. Sycamore narrowed his eyes at the incoming group as well as the fleeing woman.

 _Ugh, more of these wannabe heroes,_ thought Sycamore. _Can't wait for phase two. Even still…perhaps if this Secter person is not willing to kill me, then I could have a chat with him. Would be nice to speak to a man with similar dreams as my own…_

He slammed the VIP lounge door in front of him and faded from existence within the room to someplace further away.

. . .

Tatsumaki grunted as she set her phone down on her nightstand, tugging at the collar of her dress as Secter stood off in the corner getting ready for the day.

"She didn't even answer," said Tatsumaki. "I swear to fucking God, if she shows anyone that video…"

"She said that she wouldn't," said Secter. "But I told her not to tape you in the first place…"

"Well, now I have to make sure she deletes it. So long as I can get ahold of her anyways."

"Did you try calling her again?"

"Yeah yeah, just a second." Tatsumaki stood up from the bed and took her phone with her. Typing in her sister's number on the interface, she brought the device up to her ear and waited for an answer. For a while there was nothing but the beeping on the phone, but then the voice of her sister began to emanate through the speaker.

"Hello?" asked Fubuki.

"Sis?" asked Tatsumaki. "Where are you?"

"I just…made it back to Saitama's house."

"Well alright, you stay there. I want to meet with you real quick. I think you know why."

"O-ok," said Fubuki. Her voice quivered up and down, and her teeth chattered as if she were trapped in the midst of a whiteout snowstorm.

"Are you alright?" asked Tatsumaki, her concern for her sister growing at the sound of Fubuki's harsh breathing.

"I…I'm just a little rattled."

"What happened?"

"I…think it would be better if you were here."

"Saitama's house, right?"

"Yeah. I'll send you his address."

"Alright, alright," said Tatsumaki. "I'll be right there."

She hung up the phone and turned back to Secter, who had finished getting dressed.

"We need to visit my sis over at Saitama's real quick," said Tatsumaki. "She sounded…off."

"Alright," said Secter. "Did she say why?"

"No, but I have a bad feeling…"

"Then let's go."

The two of them left the bedroom and made their way out of the house, walking with each other down winding streets towards Saitama's home. Once it came into view, Tatsumaki scowled at the sight of the bald hero's home.

"Alright, let's go find my sis," she said. "Hopefully Saitama isn't doing anything stupid."

"You don't seem to trust him with your sister," said Secter. "Like, at all."

"I don't," said Tatsumaki. "Especially now that my sis is opening up more. Saitama doesn't really talk to people like you do, I'm afraid he's gonna say something that will hurt her or drive her back to her old ways."

"Somehow I doubt it," said Secter. "But maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and talk to Saitama sometime too."

"Maybe…"

They neared Saitama's front door, and Tatsumaki strode up and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later Saitama answered it, raising an eyebrow at the duo on his front step.

"Are you guys here for Fubuki?" asked Saitama. "Is she going home now?"

"We're here for her yes," said Tatsumaki. "But I don't know if she's leaving."

"Why is she here anyways?" asked Secter. "As opposed to her own house?"

"I honestly have no idea," said Saitama. "Like, she just shows up at my house sometimes. Only this time it was to have an appreciation party for her group in my backyard or something."

"Ohhhh, that's nice of her," said Secter. "That's really nice of her."

Tatsumaki smiled over at Secter.

"She's getting better with them too," said Tatsumaki. "I'm proud."

"Me too," said Secter.

"Uh, you guys can come in," said Saitama. "Fubuki's in the backyard I think. She actually looked a little shaky when she came back from the store, wouldn't really say why."

Tatsumaki furrowed her brows in concern and followed Saitama through his house to the sliding glass door to the backyard. Secter walked close behind, and followed Tatsumaki through to the backyard as Saitama left them to go back to his living room. Tatsumaki saw Fubuki sitting on the edge of the concrete porch, watching the rest of her group eat ice cream and laugh together.

"Sis?" asked Tatsumaki.

Fubuki turned around and gave her a weak smile while Secter shut the glass door behind them.

"Are you ok?" asked Tatsumaki. She sat down next to her sister. "Why aren't you with your group?"

"I was a second ago," said Fubuki. She caught several members of the group giving her concerned looks, with Lily looking the most concerned of all. Fubuki just smiled at them, waving them off to continue their activities, but the glances persisted.

Secter sat down next to Tatsumaki, crossing his arms as he peered over at Fubuki. His eyes, just like Tatsumaki's, were soft and worried.

"What happened?" asked Tatsumaki. "You sounded almost…scared on the phone, and you look a little pale."

"Well," said Fubuki. "I was just going to the store to get some ice cream, but then I heard that Sycamore was around, and had apparently assaulted Mumen Rider for whatever reason."

Tatsumaki gasped. Her heart pounded in her chest, a loud thump reverberating against her ribcage.

"You went off alone?" asked Secter. Eyes widening, he watched as Fubuki turned away from the two of them to stare at the ground.

"I did," said Fubuki. "And I confronted him. He…told me about being in the war you mentioned a little bit, and generally didn't seem too bad at first, but then when I started to ask why he was putting people down and why he attacked Mumen Rider, he…"

 _Who's Mumen Rider?_ thought Secter. _Fuck, did Sycamore kill someone? I was supposed to watch him, goddamnit!_

"He what?" asked Tatsumaki. " _What did he do_?"

"He cornered me and got really angry," said Fubuki. "I just got so frightened, I didn't know what to do…"

Tatsumaki went silent. Nodding her head at her sister, she wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. Fubuki sniffled and hugged her sister in return.

"He didn't hurt me," said Fubuki. "Actually seemed kind of apologetic for getting angry, but even still, it was almost like I was back, back with that Commandant…"

"No, no," said Tatsumaki. "The Commandant is dead. And we'll take care of Sycamore, don't you worry."

Secter had been watching Fubuki with shock in his eyes, which quickly turned to anger as he imagined Sycamore looming over a terrified Fubuki.

Tatsumaki stroked Fubuki's back, keenly aware of the awed stares the group was giving her.

"Secter," said Tatsumaki. "Let's find this Sycamore, shall we?"

"Do you want to?" asked Secter. "I might need to get my gun in case things go south…"

"You…don't have to kill him," said Fubuki. "I don't think he's like the Commandant."

"He attacked a hero and he terrorized you," said Tatsumaki. "He's going to pay either way."

Fubuki sighed, pulling away from her sister.

"Just…be careful, ok?" said Fubuki. "And try to see if you can reason with him, I really do think he can be talked to."

"Even after all that, you still want to talk to him?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Well, I don't, but I don't think we should just try and kill him yet," said Fubuki.

"We won't kill him," said Tatsumaki. "Probably." As Tatsumaki rose from the porch, Fubuki noticed that her hands were balled into fists.

"You sure about this Tatsu?" asked Secter. "Confronting him?"

"No one gets to hurt my sister," said Tatsumaki. "And if he's as reasonable as Fubuki says, and he's met us before without attacking us, then he'll sure as hell listen if we make him. And we're going to make him."

"Well, I wouldn't mind talking to this guy, but-" began Secter.

"I'm through with hiding from him," said Tatsumaki. "We formed this group to watch him and confront him if need be, now we're going to take action."

"Alright, alright," said Secter. "We'll go look for him. Just be careful Tatsu, he might not have a gun, but he could still be dangerous."

"That's why you're coming with," said Tatsumaki. "Sis, you stay here. We'll be back."

"Be careful," said Fubuki. "If either of you come back hurt, I won't be able to forgive myself."

"We'll be fine," said Secter. He flashed a warm smile at her, appreciating Fubuki for her concern. "Where did you last see him?"

"He was at the nearest casino, don't know if he's still there," said Fubuki.

"We'll start there first," said Tatsumaki. "You coming Secter?"

"I'm with you," said Secter. "Stick together."

The two of them said their goodbyes to Fubuki, but before Tatsumaki could open the door back into Saitama's home, she glanced back over at her sister.

"Oh, and one more thing," said Tatsumaki. "Delete that video."

"Huh?" asked Fubuki.

"The video," said Tatsumaki. "I know you taped me. Delete it."

"I promise I won't share it with anyone," said Fubuki.

"Oh my fucking God sis," said Tatsumaki. "Is everyone trying to hurt my trust lately?"

"No, no!" said Fubuki. Secter frowned over at his girlfriend.

"I just wanted to have a little moment, you know, of…normal stuff, I guess," said Fubuki.

Tatsumaki groaned.

"Just…ugh," said Tatsumaki. "Let me look at it when I get back sometime, and I'll see if you can keep it or not."

"I didn't get anything too bad…" said Fubuki. "I think…"

"Just don't show it to anybody," said Tatsumaki. "We'll be back."

Tatsumaki and Secter entered the house and made their way back over to the front door before Saitama emerged from his bathroom and stopped in front of them.

"Where are you two headed?" he asked.

"To confront Sycamore," said Tatsumaki. "Apparently he attacked Mumen Rider and terrified my sis."

"Attacked Mumen Rider?" asked Saitama. "Alright, that means punch time. Thought he was gonna be cool, but I guess not."

"I don't know if Mumen Rider is alright or not," said Secter. "We'll have to check up on that as well."

 _Way to fucking go Secter,_ thought Secter. _Just fucking great._

"Hope he's ok," said Saitama. "Mumen's a good guy."

"Did you even bother to check up on my sis, by the way?" asked Tatsumaki.

"I mean, I asked her what happened, but she kinda just brushed me off," said Saitama.

"Gee, I wonder why," said Tatsumaki.

Saitama's eyes grew distant and he dropped his arms to his sides. Irritated, he sighed at Tatsumaki.

"Alright, we gonna do this then?" asked Saitama. "We getting Sycamore?"

"We're probably not going to kill him," said Secter. "He seems…a bit more reasonable than the last Soulless that came here."

"Yeah he's probably got at least some good in him," said Saitama. "Talked to him for a bit earlier today, dude's got some weird ideas but he's actually out protecting people, least until now..."

Tatsumaki and Secter glanced at each other before looking back to Saitama.

"And of course you didn't tell us about this," said Tatsumaki.

"Eh," said Saitama. "Not much to tell. Still him spouting his same old ideas."

"Guess we'll find out more when we find him," said Secter. "Though I should get my gun first. Then we can search for him."

"Whatever," said Saitama. "Let's just make sure he's not gonna hurt anybody else then."

. . .

Secter and Saitama walked down the street, with Secter shrugging as the strap holding his shotgun to his back grew loose. Up above flew Tatsumaki, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Sycamore. The sun was close to setting, leaving the whole world drenched in a pink glow, and Secter looked over at Saitama, who walked without a care in the world.

"So, Saitama," said Secter.

"Hmm?" asked Saitama.

"Who is Fubuki to you?" asked Secter.

"Eh, an acquaintance I guess?" asked Saitama.

"Acquaintances don't usually allow each other to throw parties in their backyards."

"Well, she does stuff like that a lot."

"Is that so?" asked Secter. "Seems more like a friend to me."

"Meh," said Saitama.

Secter narrowed his eyes at Saitama.

"You're about as open to human relationships as Tatsu was when I first met her," said Secter. "Just in a more…indifferent kind of way."

"Well, not really," said Saitama, shrugging uncomfortably. "I just don't see Fubuki that way."

"Uh huh."

"Look, I know Tatsumaki and Fubuki have been changing recently, and I'm glad to see that they have," said Saitama. "But that doesn't really have much to do with me, least not now."

"Well, if you're so proud to see these changes, maybe you should consider following suit," said Secter. "And who are your friends, if you don't mind me asking."

"It's…complicated," said Saitama. "I just have people who follow me around, and-"

"Who also look up to you, and hang out with you, and seem to enjoy spending time with you," said Secter. "I'm starting to think you just don't think about how others feel at all."

Saitama scowled at the dim street up ahead.

 _There are way too many people trying to analyze me lately,_ thought Saitama. _What has this city become, a town for armchair psychologists?_

"Look man," said Saitama. "I just do my thing, and they follow me around. If they enjoy being around me, that's nice and all, but I just don't look into that sort of thing."

"I'm just saying," said Secter. "I think someone like Fubuki, or King, or Genos, or even Bang might appreciate hearing something more friendly from you."

"I don't even really know you, and you're already trying to analyze me," said Saitama. "Quit trying to be like Sycamore, and start looking for him instead."

"Just trying to help out," said Secter. "It's what I like to do."

"Yeah yeah whatever," said Saitama. "Sheesh, hopefully we find this guy soon, we've been looking for over an hour."

"Hope so," said Secter. "And hopefully he can give us an answer on what he did to Mumen Rider."

"I hope so too," said Saitama. "He better not be dead. I still regret not punching that other alien, I heard he killed some heroes a while back."

"He…did," said Secter. "And I regret not taking him out earlier too."

From above, Secter heard Tatsumaki yell, and he looked up to see her pointing forward.

"Over there!" said Saitama. "Up the street, with the fries!"

Secter glanced back down to spot Sycamore striding up an empty road past several dark buildings, a container of fries in his hand. The alien munched absentmindedly at his meal, unaware of the people who were following him.

"Here we go," said Saitama. "Let's get him."

"Don't punch him outright," said Secter. "I want to talk to this guy first."

"Yeah yeah," said Saitama. "I won't."

Tatsumaki landed in front of Secter and rushed over behind Sycamore, with him walking forward away from the ragtag group.

"You," said Tatsumaki.

Sycamore froze in his tracks and spun around.

"Oh, it's just you," said Sycamore. "Not drunk today?"

"It was one time," said Tatsumaki.

"Ah whatever," said Sycamore. "And I see you brought friends." He swallowed when he saw the end of Secter's shotgun jutting out from over his shoulder.

"Yeah, we heard you attacked Mumen Rider," said Saitama.

"Oh," said Sycamore. "Yes. He's fine, I patched him up a bit later-"

"And terrorized my sister," said Tatsumaki.

"And have been putting heroes down," said Secter.

Sycamore's eye twitched at the barrage of criticism being leveled at him. From all sides, he was under attack. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Tatsumaki. Secter watched Sycamore as he moved, moving his hand behind his back near the grip of his gun.

"This has been an unusual period for me," said Sycamore. "I don't normally make mistakes. But recently, I have made two small ones…"

"Neither of those were small," said Tatsumaki. "Especially not threatening my sister."

"Yes, yes, well-" said Sycamore.

"You _won't_ be doing that again, or you'll regret it," said Tatsumaki. "You won't win this fight."

Sycamore bristled with anger, every muscle in his body tensing at the sound of Tatsumaki's words. In that moment he wanted to fight, but only for a second. Ultimately, he knew he was outmatched.

"You…" said Sycamore. "Cannot. Threaten. Me."

"I can and will," said Tatsumaki. "If you keep trying to hurt my friends like that."

"If you back off, then no one will be hurt," said Sycamore. "Not you, not your boyfriend, not your sister. But if you keep pressing me, especially right now since I'm not in a great mood, I may snap-"

"You," said Tatsumaki. "Will. Not. Win."

Secter had stepped in next to Tatsumaki, watching both of them with unease. Saitama stood off to the side, waiting for Sycamore to make a move.

Sycamore hunched his shoulders as Secter drew near, his entire body collapsing into itself as he shrunk in Secter's presence.

"Ah just fuck off," muttered Sycamore. "You and your damned worthless boyfriend."

"Alright that's it!" said Tatsumaki. "You stupid bastard, you don't get to hurt the people I love like that! Secter, stand back!"

"Tatsu, it's alright," said Secter. "You don't have to do this."

"Just going to teach him a lesson," said Tatsumaki. "Maybe he's weaker than the Commandant."

She lifted a hand, and the tops of two nearby buildings came flying off their foundations. Dust began to cloud the area around the group, with the howling winds turning the dirt into brown tornadoes.

"Tatsu!" said Secter. "That's not even going to do anything!"

"I have to try," said Tatsumaki. "Just to wipe that stupid grin off his face. I can still protect you guys, I can still keep you safe…"

Secter rose a hand to his face to try and keep out the surrounding dust storm and pushed his way through the wind over to Tatsumaki. He wrapped an arm around her collarbone as she glared over at Sycamore. Sycamore was too busy raising an eyeline at the floating debris to notice.

"Tatsu," said Secter. "You don't have to do something like this to protect us. You make us better just by being you, by being there for us. By the things you say and do. You don't have to try and fight Sycamore to make yourself feel powerful, your strength for me and for your sis comes from how you've treated us. You make us feel our best when you believe in us and make us happy, not by trying to control the world around you."

Tears ran down Tatsumaki's cheeks, and she lowered her arm. The building tops around them settled down to the ground, crumbling and collapsing in the abandoned street. Sycamore watched Tatsumaki lower her hands with incredulity.

"Wow," said Saitama, watching from a distance. "That was something, eh Secter? And Tatsumaki is lucky there was no one in those buildings."

"I wouldn't have done it otherwise," said Tatsumaki.

Sycamore chuckled at Tatsumaki, which only made her snarl at him.

"Secter was right," said Sycamore. "That wouldn't have done anything. Ah…perhaps both of us need to work on our anger a little bit."

Secter glared at Sycamore and jostled the shotgun on his back. Sycamore straightened up in response.

"Well," said Sycamore. "Now, uh, now that we're a bit calmer…"

The three non-Soulless waited for what Sycamore was going to say, none of them pleased.

"I do want to say that I regret attacking Mumen Rider, he didn't deserve such a thing," said Sycamore. "And this goes double for frightening Fubuki, I know what it's like to be afraid of a Soulless threatening to hurt me…"

Sycamore rubbed at the sleeve of his suit and stared at the sidewalk, while Secter lowered his hand away from the weapon slung over his back.

"Yes, I don't normally make mistakes, I wasn't supposed to as a new man…" said Sycamore. "But I am truly sorry for the ones I have committed." He looked back up at Tatsumaki and Secter, both of whom seemed unsure of what to make of him. "However…this does not mean I am going to stop destroying monsters, that is why I'm here."

"Did you…want to help people too?" asked Secter. "You did come from the war, from what I recall."

"Well, yes," said Sycamore. "It's…complicated."

"Well," said Secter. "I did want to apologize for me threatening you when I first met you. Like I said, we had just had a Soulless who hurt a bunch of people, so we were kinda…on edge."

"That's very understandable," said Sycamore. "I've known quite a few terrible Soulless myself. But, uh…that can be a discussion for a different time. For now, I want to get some sleep."

"Sycamore," said Tatsumaki.

"Hmm?" asked Sycamore.

"Are you really sorry that you did those things that you did?" asked Tatsumaki.

"I am," said Sycamore. "I know your sister likely won't want to talk to me, and that's fine, but…if you happen upon her sometime soon, let her know that I made a mistake. That I am sorry."

Saitama watched, pleased at what he was hearing.

"For a guy with such a big ego, you sure are willing to admit some mistakes," said Saitama. "I figured you did care at least a bit…"

"Yeah well don't get your head wrapped around it," grumbled Sycamore. "I don't make mistakes often. And these…these are…ah fucking hell, I don't even know what to say. Just know that I make mistakes _rarely_."

"That's debatable," said Saitama. "But I guess so long as you keep going after monsters as opposed to heroes, and if you really did heal Mumen back up after you hurt him…"

"I only struck him once," said Sycamore. "And…broke his bike. But I did heal his wound and fixed it afterwards. As ineffective as that man might be, he didn't deserve such treatment."

"Why did you strike him in the first place?" asked Secter.

"I…ugh, just…another time," said Sycamore. "You've all made me start thinking about a whole bunch of crap, and that makes me tired. I'd prefer to get some rest for now."

"Fine," said Tatsumaki. "Just don't do anything like that ever again."

"I promise," said Sycamore. "You humans aren't a threat, sometimes I don't know why I still get so worked up over this…"

"Well, if you do feel like talking more," said Secter. "Especially about…past events, then I would be willing to talk. You seem like your heart is in the right place, even if you're a bit of a hothead."

"Yeah yeah we'll see," said Sycamore. "But for now, I'm out of here."

He turned to Saitama.

"Saitama, you want some fries?" asked Sycamore.

"Ooh, do you have the long and stringy ones?" asked Saitama.

"No, they're steak fries you idiot," said Sycamore.

Saitama's face fell in irritation and disappointment.

"Oh," he said.

Sycamore searched through his fries until he found one which stood taller than all the rest. Plucking it out from the others, he tossed it over at Saitama, who caught it in a single red glove.

"Oh, thanks," said Saitama.

"Don't worry about it," said Sycamore. "Now, can you all get off my case and focus on your own problems? Especially you Saitama."

Saitama munched on the fry Sycamore had given him, barely registering that Sycamore was still talking.

"Of course," said Sycamore. "Well, I'll be seeing you two around."

He looked over at Secter and Tatsumaki, his eyes trained on the arm Secter had around Tatsumaki's lower neck and shoulders.

"You'd do well to stick together," said Sycamore. "I can tell, you guys really have it in for each other. Rare to see, so rare to see…"

Tatsumaki looked up at Secter and smiled. Secter glanced down at her and returned the expression, his heart heating up at the sight of her joy.

When the two of them turned back to where Sycamore was, he was already halfway down the street.

"Huh," said Saitama. "Guess he can't take criticism too well eh, doesn't seem to be able to hold against it for even a bit."

"Maybe we should try and talk to him more, see if we can get through," said Secter. "Didn't really expect him to apologize, but I'm glad he did."

Tatsumaki frowned but gave a small nod as she watched Sycamore go.

"Well, let's get out of here," said Saitama. "It's going to be dark soon."

At Saitama's words, Tatsumaki's heart began to pound.

"He's right Secter," said Tatsumaki. "Let's go."

. . .

Sycamore found himself in a desert, far from the reaches of any human civilization. Up ahead, a cluster of silver spikes lay shifting and floating in the cold sands, slender, half the size of a house, and shaped like the head of an arrow. Sycamore sighed as he neared the construct.

 _Home sweet home,_ he thought.

A grey door slid downwards when Sycamore approached, leaving in its wake a black void that led to the inside of the ship. Sycamore stepped inside, and the door churned back upwards as Sycamore made his way to a white L-shaped couch next to a metal table. The inside of the ship was compact yet had enough room for Sycamore to fit some furniture into, the cockpit only feet away from his sleeping place and adorned with flickering controlboards outfitted with flashing yellow lights. Sycamore sat down on his couch, his suit crumpling around his legs as he struggled to make himself comfortable. Grumbling, he took off his suit jacket and his shirt, hanging them off of a nearby curved bar right next to several other suits of the same color.

Sycamore scratched at his back, dark black flakes of skin fluttering off of the splotchy patches of faded yellow which stretched down from the bottom of his neck to the top of his waist and halfway across his spine. He hunched over his table as he contemplated the day's events to himself. Down he stared at his chest, which sloped downwards in a cascade of dark V-shaped divots until it hit his waist.

 _Making mistakes, having to apologize, getting violent at people who aren't really threats,_ thought Sycamore. _Might not be the most heroic thing ever, now is it? If it were Secter threatening me I suppose that's different, although he doesn't seem too interested…_

"Ugh," he said, leaning back into his couch. "Suppose he knows the past as well as I do… Certainly someone to think about."

Sycamore closed his eyes, but sleep refused to come. He stayed like that for a while, squeezing his eyelids tighter and tighter until they began to ache and white spots began to flicker across the black void that had become his vision. When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by Soulless.

Sycamore gasped and fell back to a barren floor of darkness which had enveloped his entire ship. To his side was another Soulless, face down and coated in a mix of dirt and streaming yellow blood. Sycamore shrunk before the group of shadowy beings who surrounded him, his eyes narrowing as he realized he was sitting in a field of dirt as opposed to his couch. One of the Soulless before him began to speak, yet when Sycamore looked up at who it was, he realized that the Soulless lacked eyes and a mouth. Turning around, he saw that all of the Soulless shared the same lack of features.

"Looks like you've lost," said the Soulless. "You realize you can't possibly win by now, right?"

"You…who the hell are you?" asked Sycamore.

Laughter amongst the strangers. Sycamore slid over to the bleeding Soulless, praying that whoever it was next to him would help out, but when he prodded the injured stranger, the Soulless only flipped onto his side. Sycamore froze when he saw the face of the Soulless next to him, familiar yet nameless at the same time.

"I…think I recognize him," said Sycamore.

More laughter. Like the cawing of vultures just waiting for a bleeding animal to expire.

"Keep looking," said one of the Soulless who towered over Sycamore.

Sycamore stared deeper into the dead Soulless's face. As he did so, it began to morph and change into a different face, before rapidly contorting and twisting into another. It kept changing again and again, the skin on the corpse melting away and stretching to make room for a brand new sets of eyes or a differently shaped mouth. Sycamore jolted back, his eyes widening in fear.

"I recognize each one of them," said Sycamore. "But their names…I don't remember their names."

"Do not fear," said one of the Soulless around him. "No one does."

Sycamore looked back up at the faceless Soulless all around him.

"Are you ready to give up?" asked one of the strangers. "Ready to give in?"

"I…I…" said Sycamore.

"You have no chance," said the group in unison. "You have lost, again. No one is coming to save you, for no one is left. There's only us now."

"Who…who the hell are you?" asked Sycamore, his eyes starting to burn. Terror was setting in, no way out, no one left to help. "Don't…don't kill me."

Laughter. The Soulless directly in front of Sycamore stepped forward.

"Honestly, we could be any number of people, couldn't we Sycamore?" asked the Soulless. "But perhaps this one will jog your memory." A face twisted its way into existence on the Soulless, glowing yellow eyes and a mouth full of sharp black teeth forcing its way through the skin on the being's face.

Sycamore winced at the sight but refused to look away. Something was oddly familiar about this Soulless, yet he couldn't place the name.

"Still nothing?" asked the Soulless. He pointed to one of the other surrounding Soulless behind Sycamore. "You there, fetch me a belt sander."

Sycamore squeezed his eyes tight and opened them again. The Soulless were gone, the interior of his ship was now back in full view as if nothing had happened. Gasping, he laid his head down on his table and stared at a nearby wall. After a deep breath, he grabbed one of his suits.

"Wonderful," said Sycamore. "And here I thought I was done with these stupid visions."

He pulled the suit over his body and jerked away from the table so that he could lay flat on the couch.

"No matter what you might say then, I am a made man now," said Sycamore. "From the bottom to the top, I always say."

No one was around to hear him, but Sycamore smiled at his words anyways.

"A man with a plan, a real hero," said Sycamore. "Fuck all of you, you can all rot back up there for all I care. I've got my own life now, nothing can stop that…"

. . .

Tatsumaki ended the call on her phone, nodding in satisfaction at the talk she had with Fubuki. Secter wandered past her, his mind elsewhere.

"Well, Fubuki is glad we're ok obviously," said Tatsumaki, setting her phone on her nightstand. "Seemed just as surprised that Sycamore apologized as I was."

"Yeah," said Secter. "Maybe we were a bit harsh on him, although he seems to have some kind of anger issues."

"Something like that," said Tatsumaki. "He kept mentioning us threatening him, and he got real nervous when you got close."

"Yeah, I didn't react well when we first met," said Secter. "Threatened him actually. That's why I apologized."

"Gotcha," said Tatsumaki. "Well, uh, I guess it's time for bed."

"You tired?" asked Secter.

"Not really," said Tatsumaki. "Are…are you tired?"

"No."

"Well," said Tatsumaki. Her heart began to beat fast and hard, and she swallowed as she turned towards the bed. "I, uh…"

Secter was standing over by the dresser, one hand on the side of the bed.

"You look pretty nervous," he said.

"I am," said Tatsumaki. "I don't know…I don't know what you want to do."

"It's up to you too," said Secter. "If you…you know, don't feel like doing anything tonight, I would totally understand."

"You'd be disappointed though."

"I mean, a little bit, but only because I'd like to get a little more intimate with you. But we take it at our own pace, I don't want to rush-"

"You want to see me naked that badly," said Tatsumaki, her mind racing as to what to say. "You're so attracted to me, you can't help yourself."

"I can control myself," said Secter, chuckling. "Buuuuut, to say I'm attracted to you is an understatement."

"Alright," said Tatsumaki, shivering. "We're…we're really doing this."

"Do you want to?"

"Yes I want to," said Tatsumaki. "And not just for me, for you too."

"We can take it as slow as you want."

 _Takes more than words to let her know how much I love and want her,_ thought Secter. _Christ, my heart is going fucking nuts right now though._

Tatsumaki sidled over to the bed and slipped her dress off like normal. Sitting in only a black bra and panties, she laid down in bed and pulled the covers over her. Secter pulled his shirt off and took off his pants, laying down next to Tatsumaki with only a pair of blue briefs on.

Secter turned over to Tatsumaki, who lay flat on her back with eyes glued to the ceiling. She was shaking, her heart going over a million beats per second. Secter wrapped his arms around her and frowned when he could feel her entire body quaking.

"You alright?" he asked. "Right now this is just like normal…"

"I know," said Tatsumaki. "But we're doing more."

"Well, if you get too uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll stop," said Secter.

"I'm not uncomfortable, just nervous," said Tatsumaki.

"What did you want me to do to you?"

"I thought you had it planned out."

Secter rubbed his chin in thought.

"Well, I'm not really an expert," he said. "But I did have a few ideas."

"Like what?" asked Tatsumaki.

"You'll see," said Secter. "Let's pull the blanket down a bit."

"Ok," said Tatsumaki, her voice weak.

She kicked the blanket down to where it was left hanging off the end of the bed.

"Alright," said Secter. "I'll go slow."

"Just go already, my heart's going crazy as is."

Secter leaned in and kissed Tatsumaki on the neck, before craning down to kiss her on the shoulder. Tatsumaki watched him as he went, kissing her on the collarbone, then the center of her chest. As he pulled his lips away from her body, he reached around her back, his hands finding the backside of her bra. Tatsumaki's eyes widened.

"I uh, might need help with this," said Secter. "Always was bad at this."

"Pfft," said Tatsumaki. "Some expert you are."

"I never said I was," said Secter.

"Here," said Tatsumaki. She reached behind her back and undid her bra, pulling it away from her body but making sure to keep one arm over her breasts. As she held the bra at the edge of the bed, she looked over at Secter one more time before dropping it to the ground and moving her arm away from her chest.

"I'm…not that impressive, but-" Tatsumaki began.

Secter wrapped his lips around her right breast, Tatsumaki gasping in response.

" _Secter_!" she said.

Pulling away, he leaned back in to kiss the top of her breast, then the center, then the underside, before kissing the side of her body all the way down to the front of her stomach.

"Ah," said Tatsumaki. "I…I didn't expect you to do that."

Secter finished kissing Tatsumaki near the top of her pantyline and looked over at her.

"Well?" he asked. "Did you like it?"

"Yes I liked it," said Tatsumaki. "But you just…went right for it, didn't you?"

"Eh, I saw something I liked," said Secter. "So I kinda just went for it."

"You…you…really do like how I look," said Tatsumaki.

"Mmhmm," said Secter. He leaned back upwards, until his lips found Tatsumaki's other breast. This time, Tatsumaki wrapped her hands around the back of Secter's head, locking him in place as he kissed her. Secter let one hand slip around Tatsumaki's back, while the other slid up the side of her body until he reached her other breast. He started to fondle her, Tatsumaki gasping at Secter's touch. They remained like that for what felt like an hour to Tatsumaki, her body twitching ever so often but her hands refusing to leave the back of Secter's head. Eventually Secter pulled back and steadied himself over Tatsumaki with both hands to her sides.

"Not bad right?" asked Secter.

"Come here," said Tatsumaki. She reached up and pulled Secter's face into hers, the two of them kissing passionately as Secter lifted Tatsumaki a couple inches off of the bed. When Tatsumaki pulled back, she stared up at Secter, a big smile on her face.

"I love this," she said. "I love how you make me feel."

"I want you to feel good about yourself," said Secter. "And I want you to feel loved."

"Was…was there anything else?" asked Tatsumaki. "Anything you wanted to do?"

"Well…there was another thing."

"You…you can go for it," said Tatsumaki. She laid back down on the bed, but her body began to shiver uncontrollably again. Secter kissed the top of her chest and kissed his way down the center of her body until he made it to the top of her underwear again.

 _She's still so nervous,_ thought Secter. _Maybe I can do something to help ease her a little…_

Secter lifted his head from Tatsumaki's waist, and shuffled downwards, using Tatsumaki's legs as supports. His face was pointed between Tatsumaki's legs and he began to lean in closer.

Tatsumaki watched him with a mix of fear and curiosity in her eyes, finding herself unable to move aside from shudder.

Secter moved closer to Tatsumaki's underwear, his hands grasped onto Tatsumaki's thighs. As he drew close, he released his grip on one of her legs, and faceplanted onto the bed right beneath Tatsumaki's underwear. She stopped her quaking and burst out laughing at him.

"Wow," she said. "Way to go."

"Ack," said Secter, raising himself up from the imprint his face made on the sheets.

"Way to kill the mood," said Tatsumaki, chuckling.

"Well if you want, I can stop…"

"No! No. You can keep going, I just thought it was kinda funny is all."

"Yeah it was kind of funny," said Secter. "Guess I need a little more practice myself."

He straightened himself in his spot and placed his hand back on Tatsumaki's thigh. Leaning back down again, he bit the top of Tatsumaki's underwear, and started to pull down with his teeth. As he did so, he slid his hands out from Tatsumaki's thighs behind her back and grabbed the back of her panties to pull them down from behind as well.

Tatsumaki felt as if she was going to explode, her mind going numb at the sight of what was happening. Her head swaying a little, she began to speak.

"Be…be careful, alright?" she asked. "Be careful."

Secter had pulled her underwear down past her thighs by now, staring upwards to where Tatsumaki's underwear used to be. Letting go of the top of her underwear with his mouth, he pulled Tatsumaki's panties down past her feet, and tossed them over the edge of the bed. Then he drew himself back up and laid his face between her legs.

"Ah," said Tatsumaki. She twitched as she felt Secter down below. Initially she was frozen, but slowly she rose her legs up to wrap them behind Secter's back as her breathing quickened.

"Fuck," said Tatsumaki, squeezing her eyes shut as pleasure overcame her. "Fuck!" She quivered, and spotted Secter sliding a hand down towards the bottom of her waist. Then it disappeared towards where the top of Secter's head was.

Tatsumaki stretched and raised her arms to the headrest of the bed, pulling both her and Secter further up. Secter didn't let go, partly due to the fact that Tatsumaki's legs were keeping him locked in. Her heart racing, Tatsumaki gasped and moaned as Secter pulled himself in deeper.

"Don't stop," she said. "Don't stop."

He didn't. Tatsumaki writhed and tossed on the bed, her heart doing its best to hammer its way out of her chest. Gasping, she reached down to pull Secter's head even further in.

"Oh God," said Tatsumaki. "I don't think I can take much more, Secter, my heart…"

Secter began to pull his head back but kept one hand down between Tatsumaki's legs, rubbing her up and down. Tatsumaki's breathing became quieter, but she still twitched with almost every movement of his fingers. Setting her legs and her hands back down, she groaned and shuddered as Secter finished touching her and withdrew from Tatsumaki's waist.

"Ah," she said. "Ah God. That…was really…"

"You like it?" asked Secter. "I know I went a little hard there, but I did want you to enjoy yourself."

"I did," said Tatsumaki. "Oh God I did."

"I can tell," said Secter. "Actually wait…shit."

"What is it?"

"We should've put a towel down. I forgot."

"What?" asked Tatsumaki.

"You uh, you made a bit of a mess down here."

"Oh my God," said Tatsumaki. "I did?"

"A little," said Secter. "I think uh…I think I got most of the rest."

"Oh," squeaked Tatsumaki.

"Well," said Secter. "I'd say that was a good start, don't you think?"

"Yeah, yeah it was," said Tatsumaki. "But wait…you didn't even get naked!"

"Huh?" Secter looked down at himself, realizing that he still had his underwear on. "Right, I forgot."

"Well," said Tatsumaki. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Let's see it."

Secter chuckled, his face turning red.

"Ok, ok if you insist."

"Well it's only fair, you saw all of me, now I get to see all of you."

"Alright."

Secter pulled his underwear down, allowing for Tatsumaki to see the entire front part of his body. She chuckled at him, which made Secter narrow his eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"You really are attracted to me," she said. "You got a little excited down there."

"Well yeah I'm attracted to you," said Secter. "Why do you keep saying that? I thought it would be obvious by now."

"I know I know," said Tatsumaki. She sighed, before laying down onto the bed. "Go wash your mouth out, I want to kiss you."

"Ok," said Secter. "If you got any other sheets, you might want to change them. And uh, might want to put some underwear on just in case."

"Right, right," said Tatsumaki. "I know. I just got kinda caught up in things."

Secter smiled at her. Tatsumaki blinked at him, her eyes heavy and her heart warm for the man in front of her. Her man.

"Be right back," said Secter.

"Don't hit the doorframe with that thing on your way in," said Tatsumaki, giggling and pointing to his crotch.

"I'm not gonna hit the fucking doorframe," said Secter. "My God."

He rose from the bed, shaking his head in amusement as he made his way to the bathroom. By the time he had finished washing out his mouth, Tatsumaki had cleaned herself off and had replaced the sheets. She took her underwear back off as Secter came back out and settled himself into bed beside her, and Tatsumaki wrapped her arms around him as he laid down.

Smirking at him, Tatsumaki kissed Secter on the cheek, and Secter turned to look at her. They kissed each one another on the lips for a few seconds before withdrawing to a few inches from one another.

"See?" asked Secter, smiling. "It's supposed to be fun! Doesn't have to be so scary."

"It was great," she said. "You were great."

"You were too," said Secter. "What parts did you like best?"

"Well, it was all good," said Tatsumaki. "But…the part where you kissed all over my body was really nice."

"That's because I love every inch of you," said Secter.

Tatsumaki giggled.

"And what about you then?" she asked, propping her head up on one arm to look down at his face. "I know I didn't really do much, but was there anything you liked?"

"That part when you were stretching," said Secter. "You're so sexy when you stretch up like that. Gets me going."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Tatsumaki. She sighed before laying her head on Secter's chest. "I love you so much Secter, you did your best to make me comfortable, and you made me feel wonderful."

"I love you too Tatsu, I want you to be comfortable with this, and I want us to have a healthy relationship. Lots of communication, lots of spending time together, lots of sex…"

Tatsumaki laughed and stroked Secter's chest.

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself," said Tatsumaki.

"Hey, a man can dream can't he?"

Sighing, Tatsumaki closed her eyes as she kissed Secter on the chest one more time.

"Good night Secter," she said. "I love you."

"Good night Tatsu," said Secter. "You know I love you."

They fell asleep together, not a single dream to disturb either of their slumbers.


	6. Chapter 6

"The situation has gotten more serious than we realized," said Sitch. He eyed the suited members of the HA's highest ranks over to his left and then to his right. They all sat around a massive circular table, with half of the table separated onto a lower section. The lower section was empty, with a large television screen hanging above it.

"Monster sightings are down by over fifty percent," said an official with a pair of glasses. "We're losing funding to… _him_." The official pointed to the screen, which prominently featured the grinning face of the Monster Destroyer Sycamore.

"Yes," said Sitch. "Our stockholders have been losing faith in us. Every single time-" Sitch pulled out a remote and clicked a button near the top. The screen switched to an image of Sycamore lifting his hand into the air while a bunch of confused heroes stood just behind him. All around Sycamore were clusters of grey hexagonal columns, each one rising into the clouds. At the press of another button a similar image came onto the screen, this time with a baffled Stinger watching as the monsters who were once before him became trapped with a flick of Sycamore's hand.

"Every single time any of our heroes come into contact with any monsters, Sycamore shows up," said Sitch.

"It's as if he's taunting us!" yelled an official.

"Mocking us!" yelled another.

"He certainly is," said Sitch. "But obviously, we can't just go and label him as a threat-"

"I heard that he attacked Mumen Rider and an innocent dealer at a casino!" shouted an official.

"Yes, but according to the report from Mumen Rider, Sycamore actually healed his injury and even apologized," said Sitch. "Good luck trying to get the public to rally against that, they're starting to adore him by this point anyways."

"He's already got legions of fans!" yelled an official. "If he were with the HA, he'd be near the top for popularity!"

"We have to stop this madness!" said another official. "We'll lose all our funding if our heroes become obsolete, and the HA will cease to exist!"

"Perhaps that's for the best," said Sitch.

Shocked gasps all around the room. A mob of officials all turned to face the grey-haired man who sat near the center of them.

"This Sycamore is no different than any other hero," said Sitch. "He has come to destroy monsters and protect the people, and has done just that. Even if he has an ego, we should be grateful that a being like him has come to this earth. Perhaps instead of admonishing him, we should think more about all the people he has potentially saved with his actions." Sitch cleared his throat at the mix of confused and hostile stares he was getting.

"And even if he does make the HA obsolete, then at least it will be in furthering the goal of protecting humanity through the actions of heroes," Sitch continued. "Sometimes I fear this organization loses sight of that goal. And if it is time for the HA to become defunct, well, then perhaps we should all start planning for the future rather than worrying about the present. It seems as if we're in good hands."

"Preposterous!" shouted an official. Spit flew from the enraged man's mouth at Sitch's head. Sitch scowled in response.

"Insane!" yelled a different official.

"What about all of our heroes?" asked another official, a slim woman in a white suit. "What will happen to their funding, where will they go?"

"If things continue as is," said Sitch. "They will have to find their own way."

Murmurs amongst the officials, none of whom looked pleased about the situation. Sitch sat back in his chair, staring at the image of Sycamore that appeared on the monitor.

"There was one thing we could do," said an official. "To help alleviate our funding problems."

"Start getting rid of lower-tier heroes?" asked another.

"We've already begun that process," said a suited man. "Pamphlets are to be handed out today. It's just a matter of figuring out who should go first."

"The more inactive heroes, then the active but less effective ones then…we go from there," said an official.

"What about Tatsumaki?" asked an official. "We heard a report that she damaged some more buildings after some sort of heated exchange with Sycamore. No one was hurt, but there was tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage, and enough complaints to fill dozens of shoeboxes."

"We could make her a threat!" shouted a different official.

"No," said Sitch. "She is destructive for sure, but that shouldn't be enough to label her as a threat. I think a warning and perhaps a cut to her pay should be enough."

"Yes!" said the white-suited woman. "A pay cut! She is one of the most well-paid in the organization and hasn't even been that active lately-"

"No one has," said Sitch.

"Even still, that will help with our funding problems, allow us a bit more money to save up in case we need it for other things," said the white-suited woman.

"Perhaps," said Sitch. "But I wouldn't label Tornado as a threat unless we really have to. Especially with how serious Sycamore is with these threats…"

"Do people really think that he's going to protect humankind forever?" asked an official. "Do they really think he can destroy all monsters?"

"He's been doing well thus far and shows no signs of stopping," said Sitch. "We couldn't have planned for this. Like I said, perhaps it was for the best."

"I don't believe you," said the white-suited woman. "That Sycamore is a slimy being, I can tell. And it has caused us more than enough problems."

"That's why we've invited some…knowledgeable people to discuss this problem," said an official. "To discuss what should be done for the future."

Sitch raised an eyebrow as the doors at the bottom of the meeting room opened. In strode a man with black hair and wheels on his shoes. The man grimaced at all the skeptical officials staring down at him, and he refused to take a seat.

"Let's make this brief," said Accel. "I get the feeling we're not going to agree on much here."

. . .

Secter smiled at Tatsumaki as she pulled herself out of bed, her hair curling over her pale bare shoulders. Tatsumaki couldn't stop smiling as she walked over to the bathroom, beaming as she left the door open behind her and stepped into the shower. The two of them got ready for the rest of the day, cleansing and clothing themselves before stepping over to the door out of the bedroom. Turning over to Secter, Tatsumaki launched herself upwards on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Secter's neck, pulling him down so she could kiss him on the lips. Secter pulled Tatsumaki up, lifting her off the ground a bit as they kissed. Giggling, Tatsumaki swung her legs behind Secter's back, letting him hold her in place as they shuffled towards the door, kissing all the way. Their faces were warm against one another's, Secter feeling more alive than he had in years while Tatsumaki repeatedly came at him, kiss after kiss in an excited flurry, with some kisses deeper and longer than others. Secter pushed the door open with his side, swinging into the hallway so he could see down to the living room past Tatsumaki's flying hair. He kept kissing her all the way down the hall until they made it to the kitchen, where the two separated and Secter let Tatsumaki back down.

"So," said Secter as Tatsumaki stood back on the ground, looking up at him with heavy eyes. "You going to meet Fubuki today or something?"

"I promised her we'd go shopping last night," said Tatsumaki. "Groceries, shampoo, maybe some other things…"

"Other things?" asked Secter.

"You'll see," said Tatsumaki. She winked at him, to which Secter smirked at but had no idea what she could be thinking of.

"Well you have fun," said Secter. "I'd go with, but I think I'm going to…talk to that guy."

"To who?" asked Tatsumaki. "Saitama?"

"No. Well yes, eventually I'm sure. I meant Sycamore."

Tatsumaki's eyes widened.

"You…want to talk to him," she said. "Why?"

"Well, we saw how he acted yesterday," said Secter. "And…I know what kind of an effect the war had on people. If he's hurting from that and genuinely wants to help, I think it would be better to talk to him and maybe even let him know that there could be people who want to be his friend as opposed to keep isolating and fearing him."

Tatsumaki frowned and turned away from Secter. Crossing her arms, she sighed.

"Well…" she said. "If you think it's a good idea. I'm trusting you on this one Secter, if you get hurt or things become dangerous-"

"It'll be alright," said Secter.

"How are you even going to find this guy?" asked Tatsumaki. "You even know where he is?"

"He likes to make himself known, I imagine he won't be too hard to find."

Tatsumaki groaned as she turned back to Secter. Some of the color had drained from her face.

"I know he didn't seem as bad as we thought but I'm still going to worry sick about you," said Tatsumaki. "I would really prefer it if you didn't, but if you think it's the right thing…"

"I think it would be beneficial," said Secter. "And don't worry, I won't be gone long. I'll find the guy, talk to him for a bit, he probably won't even try anything since he has no reason to and seems kinda afraid of me, and then I'll head straight home."

"Ok…" said Tatsumaki. "You promise?"

"I promise," said Secter. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, prompting Tatsumaki to lean up and kiss him on the lips. They held each other in a kissing embrace for a while, before pulling away again.

"I really enjoyed last night by the way," said Tatsumaki. "It was amazing."

"Thanks," said Secter. "You were amazing too."

Tatsumaki narrowed her eyes a bit, contemplation seeping into her mind. She turned away from Secter and pulled up the collar of her black dress to head outside. Secter followed her out after grabbing his shotgun from a nearby closet, the two of them saying their goodbyes as they left through the front door. Each going their separate ways, Tatsumaki gave Secter a sad look as they started down opposite directions on the street, but his returned glance and a smile made her day brighter.

. . .

As it turned out, Secter was right when it came to finding Sycamore. The Soulless had just finished sending several more monsters into space on the edge of the nearest city to Tatsumaki's house, and Secter crept forward to greet him.

"Sycamore?" asked Secter.

Sycamore jumped and turned around, his silver suit glaring into Secter's face due to the morning sun.

"Oh," said Sycamore, his grin fading into a thin frown. "It's you."

"I wanted to talk, remember?" asked Secter. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Sycamore watched Secter move closer with suspicion in his eyes. He backed up as Secter got within ten feet of him.

"That's close enough for now," said Sycamore. "But yes, I recall. You…are the only Volunteer or Soulless here right? Besides me that is."

"As far as I know."

"Ah," said Sycamore. "Well…it has been some time since I've actually spoken to a Soulless or Volunteer who will listen. You know how it is up there."

"It's been a while…"

"Everyone just leaves," said Sycamore. "Runs off, leaves you behind, gets killed, et cetera et cetera."

Secter's eyes widened in shock.

"You're…a bit more open about this than I was, that's for sure," said Secter.

"Well I'd imagine," said Sycamore. "You didn't have anyone who shared your experiences…and yet I hear you like to help people, kind of like me."

"That's true."

"How come you didn't destroy all the monsters yourself? Would've been easy for you."

"Actually that was one of the things I wanted to talk about," said Secter. "And as to why you were doing it."

Sycamore's eyes darted left and right, and when he spotted a crowd of people moving along he beckoned Secter closer.

"To my ship," said Sycamore. "My makeshift home."

Secter raised an eyebrow.

"It's not a trap you idiot," said Sycamore. "I have no interest in killing you or hurting you, unless you want to do the same to me."

"I don't."

"Alright then, let's go."

Secter sighed and followed Sycamore as they walked through seemingly endless stretches of desert. The sun beat down on Secter's back as he walked, and he spotted Sycamore's gleaming spacecraft up ahead, like a mirage of an oasis on the horizon but of glimmering metal rather than water. As they neared the ship, Sycamore stood back as the door mechanism slid open, and entered as it disappeared into the doorway of the ship. He stepped inside and Secter followed suit. With the door closing behind them, Sycamore sat on his couch and gestured to a place where Secter could sit.

"Christ," said Secter, staring at all of the flashing lights and controlboards in the cockpit. "Been a while since I piloted one of these."

"Well, hopefully you won't need to," said Sycamore.

"Hmm?"

"Don't worry about it," said Sycamore. "Drinks of any kind? I have coffee…and a bit of alcohol I think, for the more unruly person."

"No thanks, I don't drink anymore," said Secter.

"Ah. One of those types eh? I don't blame you. Alcohol was a valuable commodity up in the Nothing, although I'm sure you know that."

"Actually…I was in the war up there but left as it was ending," said Secter. "Heard I got lucky."

Sycamore gawked at Secter, his mouth drooping open to reveal his rows of black teeth.

"Lucky is an understatement," said Sycamore. "Although you were in the war, so I guess you weren't that lucky."

"Yeah," said Secter. "I guess none of us were."

"Oh without a doubt. Still, you managed to get out at that time? Ahhhh, you've missed some of the worst of it." Sycamore leaned back in his seat and lifted his hands up to cradle the back of his head. "It is good to speak to someone who knows about this shit though, like I said most of my friends are gone or dead. Many killed in front of me, actually."

"That's terrible," said Secter. "But I know the feeling. And sometimes to see them…turn into different people."

"Yes!" said Sycamore. "That's it! They turned into different people. Into broken souls, hopeless and lost, or to horrible monsters. Lots of both still up there, and I heard one actually made its way down here."

"Yeah, the Commandant. Old foe from my past. Tried to kill me, nearly killed Tatsu and her sister Fubuki, and hurt and killed several others. Horrible bastard he was, only looking to spread misery because he was miserable."

"I'm afraid that about sums up most Soulless nowadays," said Sycamore.

"Except for you, it seems," said Secter. "Did you escape that place then?"

"Yes," said Sycamore. "Hate, hate, _hate_ that place. Came back looking for something…better so to speak, and then I came up with my plan."

"To…destroy monsters and become a hero."

"Yes, yes, but also to prove that most people on this planet aren't heroes and such."

"I mean…these heroes have their issues, but that doesn't mean they can't be heroic."

Sycamore groaned and waved Secter off.

"Don't feel like talking about that right now," said Sycamore. "Normally I would, but for today, I prefer talking about what I normally don't."

"Well, whatever you want to talk about then, I'll listen," said Secter. "Actually…wouldn't mind talking about some of my own experiences myself, if you don't mind."

"Not at all!" said Sycamore. "You seem…quite genuine for a Volunteer by today's standards. Hard to find, hard to find indeed…"

"I guess you can start," said Secter. "Whatever it is you wanted to talk about, I don't know if it pertains to here, or what…"

"You know who Grafton was, or what the Supremacy is, or the True Humanists, or any of that?" asked Sycamore.

"I knew Grafton, terrible warlord. The rest I don't know."

"I've been captured by all of them," said Sycamore. He leaned back further in his seat. "And it might seem like a lot to pour on you, but I want to drive home as to how good you have it here."

"Uh…alright."

"Belt sander!" said Sycamore. "Right!" He flipped around and tore his suit over his head to show Secter his flaking back, to which Secter leaned as far away as he could from. It was a maze of scars and rough flesh, a dull yellow in color with splotches of black spread in spots from the shoulders to the waist. If Secter hadn't heard Sycamore mention the sander, he would've thought Sycamore the victim of some monster that had attempted to chew up his back but had only gotten skin deep.

Chuckling, Sycamore turned back around and slipped his suit and undershirt back over his body.

"They used a belt sander, a group of em, and used their powers to make it a temporary elimination weapon so it could actually hurt me," said Sycamore. "I couldn't nullify them of course, a whole damned group of em back during the war got me after they had shot my friend, and they tore that damned tool across my back. Again and again, those slimy bastards. Don't know if I ever ended up shooting them, most of the people I shot I didn't even know."

"Ah-"

"Oh and the Supremacy too?" asked Sycamore. "They're real bastards. I didn't want to join up, because I wanted to get the hell out of the Nothing as opposed to staying, and they threatened to twist my body into one of those damned skinny forms, you know what I mean?"

Secter grimaced, not at all sure at what Sycamore meant. It was too much for his mind to handle at once, a wrecking ball of information leaving in its wake thousands of pieces of debris and meaning.

"Ah it's not too important, the important lesson is that you should appreciate this new home," said Sycamore. "Problem is…once I'm done with my plan, humankind will likely tear itself apart. But you're a Volunteer, just take whoever is close to you and keep em safe. Like that Tatsumaki woman, she really love-"

"Wait a second," said Secter. "You're going too fast. And…are way more open about this stuff than I normally am."

"Well yeah," said Sycamore. "Everyone up there has stories like that now. People are almost…used to this sort of treatment. Was why I wanted to get away. That and well, had always liked the idea of being a hero, I always had people to look up to, but the war kind of quashed that."

"So you…had terrible experiences up there, had your friends killed and your dream quashed, and decided to escape for a better life," said Secter. "Why here?"

"Because of the plan!" said Sycamore. "It's…ugh, it's gotten harder the longer I stay. Almost starting to appreciate you humans a bit, but if the Soulless couldn't live up to their means, then you humans better be able to."

"Or else what?"

"You…you just have to live up to what it's supposed to be like as a hero! I've seen many of my friends try their best and yet all fall. Being a hero is a big deal you know."

"It is, but you have very high standards for being one," said Secter.

Sycamore grumbled.

"Yes yes," he said. "Perhaps. But let's not worry about that for now. Plus, it would take hours to swap all our horror stories, so let's save them for another time."

"That's up to you," said Secter. "I don't mind listening, but of course if you don't want to go into a ton of detail I wouldn't blame you either. Lot of…really bad stuff happened up there."

Sycamore rubbed at his arm, casting a downwards look as he remembered and remembered.

"Indeed," he said.

Secter sighed, still shocked at the amount of information Sycamore had thrown at him.

"Although I did want to hear about you," said Sycamore. "You can certainly live up to what it means to be a hero, and it seems you've found that rare thing so many Soulless are still looking for…happiness."

"Yeah, I did," said Secter. He smiled. "It…took a while, and there were some painful steps, but I did find something better."

"Did you ever tell anyone about what you went through?" asked Sycamore. "I'm a hell of a lot more open about it than you are it seems, but then again, we are quite different… And I'm used to seeing and hearing these sorts of things, I guess."

"I…did," said Secter. "First to Tatsu. She's…really the light of my life. I'm pretty sure I'd be dead if it weren't for her. And…I don't know, it's tough for me to put into words just how much I love her. I could try to explain most of it but…it's hard and personal. And honestly, sometimes I still think I don't deserve her."

"She seems to think otherwise," said Sycamore. "Just by the way she looks at you. That look-" He paused for a moment, his eyes growing distant. "Is not one I've seen…in a long time. Not with me, not with my friends, not with anyone up there in the Nothing. There is no love there, just hatred. Hatred and misery. I'm…too used to hatred and misery. Seeing Tatsumaki's look almost shocked me into a different reality, as if I had to be reminded that such a concept of love still existed. Had me a restless night that night."

"That's…absolutely terrible," said Secter. "I mean, people were horrible and hateful when I was up there, but has it really gotten that bad?"

"Yes…yes it has…" Sycamore's voice grew thin.

"Well I don't want to push you on anything, you're…quite a bit different than I expected." Secter rubbed at his chin, contemplating things. "I guess I'm more detached from the Soulless now than I thought."

"Good," said Sycamore. "The Soulless aren't worth being like anymore. Actually, I was almost hoping that one day I might become…more like you."

"Like me?"

"Happier, so to speak. And…I don't know how to put it, but you have genuine care for people. Sometimes I wish I was a bit more like that, but that's neither here nor there."

"You could be," said Secter. "I believe you could. And to be honest, I think you already kinda are."

"I…suppose maybe to some extent, but it…just…kind of contradicts some things. Anyways, for the time being, I'm busy, have too much to do to really worry about that."

"I don't believe that for a second," said Secter. "You've got good in you and you don't need to push it away. And me, well, I'm not really the best role model around, but…I guess I'm not too bad."

"You put yourself down even now, even after finding this happiness," said Sycamore. "Another common trait I saw up there, so much self-hatred…"

"I mean I don't hate myself," said Secter. "Had you asked me that several months ago or so the answer might've been different. But now…now I think I'm alright for the most part, just…maybe not fully deserving of someone like Tatsu. She really is my favorite person in all the world, I love her with all of my heart."

"Yes yes," said Sycamore. "I get it. I suppose we all have our problems…"

"Like you suggesting that humanity will fall apart after your plan?" asked Secter. "Why are you planning this, exactly?"

"Think about it Secter," said Sycamore. "It's simple. No more monsters to fight, the more ambitious and greedy heroes use their powers for the own ambition, while the more ineffective ones try and fight back. In the end, no one is a hero."

"Except for you."

"Of course! And maybe you, who knows. Maybe a couple of others at best. But at the end of the day, what's important is that I was right, and humanity was wrong. It takes someone like me to show what real heroism is and where it actually exists."

"I don't know Sycamore, you seem to have some problems yourself," said Secter. He crossed his arms, giving Sycamore a skeptical look.

Sycamore scowled at Secter, the flames on his back whipping around his body.

"Very small mistakes," said Sycamore. "And they are rare for me. But anyways…"

He gestured to the door.

"I enjoyed our little talk, even if you're a world away from me," said Sycamore. "Which I guess I should've expected. I would talk more, but I have more monster hunting to do."

Secter got up from his seat and started to head towards the door. As he neared it, he gave Sycamore one sad, final glance.

"What?" asked Sycamore.

"I've been thinking about it, you are kinda alone," said Secter. "As different as we may seem, I'd prefer for that not to be the case. Maybe you should go out and talk to some people, and you know, not put them down or anything. You might end up liking it here."

"Feh," said Sycamore. "I'm a busy man. And the loneliness barely bothers me, you get used to that kinda thing in the Nothing. Although…perhaps one day I should apologize to that Fubuki woman, for some reason what I did to her bothers me more than what I did to Mumen…"

"So long as you don't hurt or scare her," said Secter. "And I'd be careful, Tatsu doesn't trust you as is."

Sycamore waved him away, a frown spread across his face.

"I will consider it," said Sycamore. "But for now, I continue my plan."

"Humankind isn't going to destroy itself," said Secter. "Just because you defeat all the monsters. And there's no reason to pursue this goal anyways, when you don't have any reason to really want it."

"It's ok for you to be wrong," said Sycamore. "Don't worry about it."

Secter squinted at Sycamore, irritation flickering across his face. The fact that Sycamore so blatantly ignored his own caring side towards humanity made Secter even more annoyed, his body bristling against Sycamore's conflicting ideas. With a sigh, he turned and left the ship, taking his first step back out into the desert.

. . .

Tatsumaki strode through the aisle with her head held high, her sister not far behind looking at various cans of food.

"I feel good today sis," said Tatsumaki.

"I know," said Fubuki. "You look happy, even more than usual."

"I feel happier," said Tatsumaki. "And by the way, what did you say you needed again?"

"Oh, I was just looking," said Fubuki. "Feel free to look around at stuff that you want."

"Oh alright then," said Tatsumaki. "There was some stuff I wanted to look at."

"Go for it," said Fubuki. "I'll meet you in the clothes section."

"Ok," said Tatsumaki. She headed away from Fubuki back over to where the self-checkout lanes were, and grabbed a black shopping basket that was stashed in stack along with several others in the area. Pulling the basket out, Tatsumaki wandered through the aisles, absentmindedly snatching foods and ingredients of all kinds. At one point she pushed a bag of powdered sugar into her basket, and she grabbed it to lay it flat inside. Satisfied with the amount of assorted groceries she had, Tatsumaki started to make her way to an aisle towards the back of the store, her eyes darting left and right as she went. As she made her way towards the aisle, she peered down the neighboring ones to see if anyone was there. Satisfied with the result, she headed down the aisle, keeping her head down as she went. Towards the end, she stopped to look at a small section of books. Tatsumaki pulled one off of the shelf, a book with an image of two people embracing on the front. The people were nude but had their more sensitive parts covered by the other person's body. Tatsumaki peered down at the book and flipped it open.

 _There's so many…_ she thought. _Maybe Secter would enjoy some of these. Although…I don't know if I could bend that way in that one, don't know if he's that flexible either._

Scooping the book into her basket, she slid it underneath the bag of powdered sugar and kept walking. She pulled her collar up, as if it would somehow help her from being identified. Eyes shifting to and fro, she made it to the next aisle over, where she glanced at several small boxes with bold letters on the front.

 _For the future,_ she thought. _I do want it to get to that point, hell, maybe even soon. Maybe even tonight…_

Snatching one of the boxes, she tossed it into her basket and stashed it within a group of canned baked beans. She pushed it towards the bottom of the basket, near where the tiny slots were. Once it had disappeared beneath all the food, she started to head back towards the end of the aisle, when she spotted several small containers lining the racks near the end displays.

 _Would we…need any of that?_ she thought. _I…I guess? It seems like it would be helpful…ugh, I really am an amateur when it comes to all this._

She grabbed a bottle of clear liquid and shoved it underneath the powdered sugar along with the book. Nodding in approval, Tatsumaki headed out from the aisle and jumped to the side when someone in another black dress almost ran into her.

"Oh there you are sis!" said Fubuki. "I saw you going to the back of the store for some reason, worried you got lost for a second."

Tatsumaki's face turned bright red as she realized who was talking to her.

"I'm fine!" she yelled. "I didn't get lost! Was just…looking around, is all."

"In…this aisle?" asked Fubuki. She pointed to the aisle Tatsumaki had just left.

Tatsumaki froze. Her arms began to strain and she clenched her teeth together as she frantically searched her mind for a response.

"Was just…wandering," said Tatsumaki. "Looking around for uh, a certain section."

Fubuki leaned to her left, eying the side of Tatsumaki's basket. Something poked out from the slots at the bottom of it, a thin black strip of cardboard buried underneath several cans of beans.

"Um," said Fubuki. "Are you…hiding things under your food, sis? Why do you even have baked beans and powdered sugar?"

"I like to cook!" yelled Tatsumaki. "Is it so hard to believe I would get some ingredients?!"

"You don't have to shout," said Fubuki.

Tatsumaki gritted her teeth together, praying that her sister would leave for any possible reason.

"Well," said Fubuki. "I'm going to head back to the clothes aisle, I'll meet you there I guess."

"Yes," said Tatsumaki. "I'm going to check out real quick, but I'll be back."

"Condoms?" asked Fubuki.

 _Stop,_ thought Tatsumaki. _Stop this. Stop._

"It's…" said Tatsumaki. "They're…"

Fubuki chuckled at her sister, who looked as if she were ready to die.

"It's ok sis," said Fubuki. "I'm happy for you. Not that I need to hear any details or anything, but I'm glad you feel confident enough to be that intimate with Secter. I bet you can both make each other really happy."

"Thank…you?" said Tatsumaki. "Just…don't, don't pry into this ok? This is private stuff, between me and him. I…fucking hell, I didn't even want you to see all this."

"Oh come on sis, after your drunken escapade I thought you two must've been up to some stuff," said Fubuki. "Or at least had talked about it a little."

Tatsumaki shrunk into her dress, her neck sinking down into her black collar.

"Did you delete that video like I asked?" asked Tatsumaki. Her face still burned.

"I…didn't," said Fubuki. "It's…I mean, I know it's personal to you and such, but it's just kind of adorable. I like seeing you two together and to be honest…sometimes I wish I had what you had. Someone or something to make me as happy as Secter makes you."

Tatsumaki straightened up, shocked to see her sister start to look downcast along with hearing the words she had said.

"You…you'll find happiness too, I'm sure of it," said Tatsumaki. "And…don't I make you happy? Doesn't your group make you happy? Even Secter, doesn't he kinda make you happy too?"

"You all do," said Fubuki. "But you know what I mean. I think I'm just a little jealous, is all."

"Oh," said Tatsumaki. "Secter and I…we do have something special."

"Yeah, and it's so hard to find something like that," said Fubuki. "Which is why I'm so happy for you sis, you deserve it."

"I…guess I do," said Tatsumaki. "I haven't always been the kindest person, but I'm glad you think that way. I do deserve him."

"You do," said Fubuki. "Now, are you going to check out? I'm going to head back to the clothing aisle real quick."

"Yes, yes," said Tatsumaki. "Meet you back in a second."

"Alright, see you in a bit sis," said Fubuki.

The two of them went their separate ways, with Tatsumaki heading back to the self-checkout section. As she walked through an aisle filled with colorful bags of chips, she passed a woman in a blue nurse's outfit talking to someone on the phone.

"Yeah, there's plenty of cute guys there," said the nurse. "There was this one guy, I think his name was Secter or something, was only there for a bit but I met him once and he was so cuuuuuute."

Tatsumaki halted in her tracks. Turning around to where the nurse was standing, she gave an evil smile to the woman, who raised an eyebrow at the esper.

"He is cute," said Tatsumaki. "But he's taken, so don't even think about it."

"Hang on, I'll have to call you back," said the nurse. She hung up on her call, and eyed Tatsumaki up and down.

"Oh, you mean to say he's going out with _you_?" asked the nurse. "Huh, didn't know he was into those types. Maybe he just felt kinda bad or something."

Her fists clenching, Tatsumaki could feel a boiling rage start to cloud her mind. After a few seconds, she managed to clear it.

"For your information," said Tatsumaki. "I love how I look, and Secter does too. So you can fuck right off, and go back to being a miserable asshole who insults people for no good reason."

The nurse froze, her eyes widening as she recoiled from the verbal assault. Tatsumaki smirked at her before flipping around and heading straight for the self-checkout aisle. She was smiling the entire way there.


	7. Chapter 7

Tatsumaki held her phone closer to her ear as she turned the television on. Scrolling through the channels as she spoke, she searched amongst the movies on the guide.

"How close are you to home Secter?" she asked.

"Pretty close," said Secter on the other end of the phone. "Just going to get something to eat real quick, then I'm heading straight home."

"Well hurry," said Tatsumaki. "I want you here."

"I'm coming, don't worry."

"How was…your talk, by the way?"

"It was interesting," said Secter. Something crinkled in the background wherever Secter was, and Tatsumaki strained to hear it. "He was…a lot more open about the experiences he had than I was, that's for sure."

"How did he seem to you?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Still egotistical, kind of on a…different world, so to speak," said Secter. "But there's good in him. He feels bad about what he did to Fubuki, and he seems to be warming up to humankind in general. Might take a bit more pushing though."

"Huh," said Tatsumaki. "And he didn't try to hurt you."

"No," said Secter. "I don't think he would unless I tried to hurt him anyways."

"Gotcha."

"And how was your day?"

"It was alright. Had some interesting little experiences, but otherwise I'm ok." Tatsumaki picked up a book that was laying next to her on the couch, and she flipped through the pages of people in various compromising positions.

"Experiences?" asked Secter.

"Eh, nothing much to talk about," said Tatsumaki. "Wait until you get home."

"I'm like, within view of the house right now."

"Well get in!" said Tatsumaki. "And come cuddle, I want to watch a movie."

"That sounds great."

"See you soon Secter."

"See you."

Moments later, Secter burst in through the door, a sandwich wrapped in white paper in one hand and another hand behind his back.

Tatsumaki flung the book she was reading under the couch and smiled at him as he closed the door and walked over.

"So," said Secter. "I got some food, and you know what else I got?"

"What?" asked Tatsumaki.

He took his hand out from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of flowers, various bulbs of purple all sticking out from a plastic holder.

"Your favorite flowers," said Secter. "Uh…violets?"

"Violets aren't my favorite," said Tatsumaki. "But you're close."

"Shit," said Secter. "What are they then?"

"I do like purple lilies. But normally I don't pay too much attention."

"Oh. Eh, just thought it would be nice."

"It is nice. It's very you."

"Me?"

"Yes. You're adorable, and kinda cheesy, and I love you."

Secter's cheeks flushed red as he lowered the violets.

"I love you too," he said. "With all of my heart."

"Sit," said Tatsumaki. She patted the spot right next to her.

"Just a sec," said Secter. "Gotta put all this up."

"Put the flowers on the kitchen table," said Tatsumaki. "I want to see them after I wake up."

"Ok," said Secter. He raced to the kitchen and set the sandwich into the refrigerator before finding the largest cup he could, filling it with water, and setting the violets inside. Scrunching his face at the now tilting violets, Secter shrugged and ran back to the couch. Collapsing down at Tatsumaki's side, he leaned his head on her shoulder while she wrapped her arms around him.

"What do you want to watch?" she asked.

"Eh, whatever sounds good," said Secter. "No preference."

"Alright, I'll find something."

As Tatsumaki flipped through the channels, Secter eyed her up and down, watching her breathe through her black dress.

"Hey Tatsu…" he said.

"Yeah?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you look in that dress?"

"No…no I don't think so."

"Well you look damned good in it," said Secter. "It's pretty close fitting at times."

"I mean yeah," said Tatsumaki. "But you're right, I do look good in it. Especially when I do this-"

Tatsumaki stretched her arms up, her body outlined against her dress as she did so. Secter straightened as her stomach and the outlines of her breasts came into better view, and Tatsumaki smirked at him in response.

"You like this, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes I do," said Secter. "Christ, love it when you do that."

"You just like to see me," said Tatsumaki. "If it were up to you, you'd have me go around naked everywhere."

Secter laughed.

"I don't know about that, but I definitely really like seeing you be confident in yourself," said Secter. "And I _really_ like seeing you in general, clothes or no clothes."

Smiling, Tatsumaki leaned in close to Secter's face, her breath spreading hot across his lips.

"And I like seeing you too," said Tatsumaki. "Would really like to see more of you, honestly. I want this relationship to go as far as possible."

 _Is…is she making a metaphor?_ thought Secter. _No…_

Tatsumaki kissed him, with Secter slowly pulling her in closer. They made out while the remote settled on the channel it had been highlighting. A movie began to play in the background while Secter and Tatsumaki kissed, the two of them separating as the main title was displayed on the screen in large letters.

"This movie's ok," said Tatsumaki, her face still inches away from Secter's. "Want to watch?"

"Sure," said Secter. "You want anything to eat?"

"I might have some popcorn in there," said Tatsumaki. "I think I grabbed some at the store today."

"I'll go and check."

Secter went over to the kitchen and retrieved a bag of popcorn from one of the top cupboards. Minutes later he had an entire bowl filled with fluffy yellow clouds of a snack, and he brought it back over to where Tatsumaki was sitting. Setting it on the table, the two of them ate together as the movie went on.

An hour later, the bowl was down to only a few pieces of popcorn. On screen, one of the characters had just taken off all his clothing while another watched. After a few seconds, the two characters came together and began to caress and moan to one another as they collapsed onto a bed.

 _Christ this movie is dull,_ thought Secter. His eyelids were like anchors over his eyes.

Tatsumaki watched the scene with skepticism, crossing her arms.

"That's not how it really is," she said. "Right? I mean…they need a towel and everything. They're going to make a mess."

Secter laughed, finding the energy to blast himself out of his fatigue.

"Yeah, I mean maybe," said Secter. "It is a movie after all."

"Mmhmm," said Tatsumaki.

As the scene went on, with one of the characters clambering on top of the other and beginning to thrust, Tatsumaki found herself frowning. She looked over at Secter, whose eyes were glazed over.

"Did you…expect it to be like it is in this scene?" asked Tatsumaki. "Since I…you know, didn't do anything?"

"Hmm?" asked Secter, blinking at her sleepily. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't do anything. You just…kinda went down on me, and made me feel good."

"I still enjoyed myself."

"I mean…I guess, but mainly only because I was enjoying myself."

"Sex is supposed to be fun for both parties."

"Yeah, but I want you to feel good too."

"Ah," said Secter. "Gotcha. Well…you know, if we end up doing something again, and you're comfortable, maybe you can try something out on me-"

"I _am_ comfortable," said Tatsumaki. "One hundred percent. I want to do this, I even-" She reached down beneath the couch to retrieve the book she had hidden there, and showed it to Secter, who raised an eyebrow at the cover.

"I even got this," said Tatsumaki. "To, you know, help us out. Well, help me out I guess. You seem to know this stuff better than me."

"Not all that well," said Secter. "But wow Tatsu…you actually bought a sex position book?"

A thin film of red blossomed in Tatsumaki's cheeks.

"I…I wanted to learn some more," she said. "And you know, see what I could do. What we could do."

"That's…actually really thoughtful of you," said Secter. "Although I can't imagine what it must've felt like for you to actually go and get that."

"I was a bit embarrassed," said Tatsumaki. "But it'll be worth it."

"I think so too."

"Well…what are we waiting for then?"

Secter's eyes widened, his heart starting to pound.

"You want to go now?" asked Secter. "You're ready for this sort of thing?"

"Well, we can take it a bit slower, but yes," said Tatsumaki. "I really, _really_ , want to make you feel good."

Secter laughed.

"Well alright then," he said. "Let's get out of here."

Tatsumaki grinned as she got up, turning the television off with the nearby remote. Tossing the device to the couch, she dashed off to the bedroom, Secter close behind her.

 _She's actually excited for it too,_ he thought. _Wow Tatsu, you really do want to be that close huh._

The two of them entered the bedroom and Tatsumaki closed the door behind them. She tore her dress off over her head, tossing it over to the side of the bed near the nightstand. Secter sat on the end of the bed, pulling his shirt and pants off. When they were both in their underwear, Tatsumaki walked over to Secter and helped him out of his briefs. Secter did the same with her bra and panties, and they jumped into bed together, pulling the blanket around them.

"Man, what a day," said Secter. "Talked to Sycamore, learned all kinds of stuff and even said some things I don't think I even say to you, then I come home and here you are wanting to make love to me."

"Wait," said Tatsumaki. "Things you don't even say to me? Like what?"

"Oh," said Secter. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Just…mentioned that sometimes I still think I don't deserve you."

" _What_?" asked Tatsumaki. Her mouth hung open as she looked at him.

"I mean, I do like myself by now, and I do…think I deserve happiness, but-"

"But what?" asked Tatsumaki. " _Secter, but what_?"

"I…I don't know," said Secter. "You're too good for me, Tatsu."

"No," said Tatsumaki. "No, no. We deserve each other. You deserve happiness." She embraced Secter and pulled him into her, both of them growing warm in each other's body heat.

Secter smiled as tears started to roll down from his eyes.

"I know," he said. "I know."

"You deserve everything," said Tatsumaki. "I want you to be so happy, you deserve it. You do, you really do." Tatsumaki felt something wet fall onto her cheek and she looked up to see one of Secter's tears fall onto her face. Her heart twisting in agony, she began to cry too, soft and silent.

"It's ok Tatsu, it really is," said Secter. "I promise you I love myself, I promise-"

"Then say you deserve it," said Tatsumaki. "That you deserve happiness, and you deserve me. Because I don't want anyone else, and I know we deserve each other."

"I don't want anyone else either," said Secter. "And I do…I do believe it."

"Please Secter. Say it. I can't let you feel down on yourself, not after all that has happened. I can't let you think that way again."

"I deserve you," said Secter. He smiled as he spoke, and he wiped away at the tears that flowed from his eyes, leaving a shiny smear over his face. "I deserve happiness."

"I want you to believe that," said Tatsumaki. "If you ever got as depressed as you were when we were first talking…I would want you to tell me, I would do anything to help you through it and to keep it from happening ever again. I love you far too much to see you hurt like that, I want you to be as happy as you can be, all the time. Whatever I can do."

Secter sniffed, pulling Tatsumaki's head into his neck.

"Thank you Tatsu, you're…" he said. "You're…everything to me. I want this relationship to last a long time, I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

Tatsumaki let out a squeal of joy. She lifted her head from her neck to look up at him, a smile on her face despite the flowing tears.

"Me too," she said. "Forever, for as long as I live."

Secter's heart turned into a fireball as he kissed Tatsumaki, his chest warming up into a blazing furnace. Tatsumaki took harsh breaths in between their kissing, her body shaking every time they pulled away for a second or two. Slowly she started to kiss lower, starting with Secter's chin, then heading down to his neck, the center of his chest, then his stomach. Secter watched with incredulity as she went.

"Tatsu," he said. "Are you-"

His question was cut short by Tatsumaki sinking into the covers, only the top of her head visible underneath the cave of fabric. Secter gasped as she kissed lower and lower, until he felt her start to rub him from below.

"Ah," said Secter. "Fuck, Tatsu…"

Tatsumaki rubbed faster. Within seconds, Secter felt her mouth between his legs.

 _Holy shit,_ he thought. _This is really happening, this is really happening, fuck!_

"Oh God," said Secter, shivering all the while struggling to keep still. "Tatsu, keep doing just that."

She began to massage him in rhythm, causing Secter to twitch and moan. He could feel himself ready to burst, with Tatsumaki refusing to let up.

"Fuck," he said. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, Tatsu!"

He doubled over, wrapping his body over Tatsumaki's head. Undeterred, Tatsumaki clung to his lower half, her hands finding their way to the back of Secter's waist. Secter gasped, little chuckles escaping his throat in between all of his moans and shortages of breath.

"Hah," he said. "Hah. Fucking hell Tatsu, I did not expect you would do that."

Tatsumaki pulled away from him, sliding her arms back to her sides. She emerged from the blanket, wiping her mouth as she went along. As her face came back into view, Secter watched as her throat muscles convulsed, as if she were swallowing something down. Secter let out a tiny gasp at the sight.

"Well," said Tatsumaki. She smirked at him, her eyes seductive and heavy. "You made a bit of a mess down there, but I think I got most of it."

"Hah," said Secter. His breathing was labored and he looked at Tatsumaki as if she had just come first in a marathon. "You…holy shit…that was good Tatsu."

"You like it?" asked Tatsumaki. "I wasn't sure I could do it, but the book gave me some pointers. And the taste isn't _that_ bad."

"Ok," said Secter, his voice growing thin.

"So I did good?" asked Tatsumaki. "You felt good?"

"I did," said Secter. "But…but Tatsu, this doesn't have to be a give and take."

"I mean, I didn't really do anything last time to you, but I also wanted you to feel nice."

"It's…it's fine to do this," said Secter. "I'm just saying that you don't have to feel that just because I did something for you, means you have to do something for me."

"I know, I know," said Tatsumaki. "Even still, I felt a little bad. You did great last time, and taught me some stuff, and made me feel so confident in myself, and so loved…"

"That's what I really wanted," said Secter. "Although what you just did was fucking fantastic."

"Thanks," said Tatsumaki.

"Christ," said Secter. He twitched again.

"You ok?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Yeah, I think-"

"Oh! You're still going a bit, aren't you?"

"A bit."

"I can get that."

"Tatsu, you don't have to-"

It was too late. Tatsumaki already disappeared under the covers, and was on him in seconds. Secter gasped as his body got ready for another round. A few minutes later the same thing happened, and Tatsumaki started to emerge from under the blanket. Only this time, Secter felt a fire in his brain, the only thing he wanted was the woman in front of him.

"Tatsu," said Secter. "I want you more than anything right now."

Tatsumaki emerged from the blankets, pulling herself close to him.

"I want you too," she said. Feeling him press up against her, she let out a sigh and started to shake. Then her eyes widened. "But wait, Secter wait! You don't even have a condom on!"

"Oh," said Secter. "Do you have any?"

"I got some at the store, one second!" said Tatsumaki. She leapt out of bed, leaving a quivering Secter alone and with a disheveled blanket around him. He could hear the sink run in the bathroom as Tatsumaki washed her mouth out, and the creaking of a cupboard opening signaling her search for what she was looking for. Seconds later she was back, a condom in one hand and a bottle in the other.

"I think I know how to do this," said Tatsumaki. "Just…hold on, stay like you are."

Secter laughed.

"You're hovering over me and are naked Tatsu," said Secter. "I wouldn't worry about it going away."

Tatsumaki flashed a devious smile at him and pulled the condom out from its packaging. Frowning at the object, she tried wringing it out in an attempt to get it to unroll. Secter chuckled and reached down to help her, the two of them unrolling it over him until it was fully on. Tatsumaki nodded and opened the bottle, squirting some of the substance over her hands and massaging it onto Secter.

"Good…good choice," he sputtered. "Will…probably be good for…first time…"

"Good," said Tatsumaki. "Do you…want to be on the bottom or the top?"

"Either is fine," said Secter. "Don't care. Just want this."

Tatsumaki shivered and tossed the bottle to the ground. Clambering over on top of him, she hyperventilated as she hovered her waist over his.

"We're…really doing this," said Tatsumaki.

"If…if…you want," said Secter. "Fuck, I can barely…talk."

"You're so excited," said Tatsumaki. "You want me so bad."

"I really do."

"I want you too," she said. "Oh God, I don't know if I'll last that long."

"It's fine," said Secter. "It's fine. It's your first time, enjoy it and don't worry."

"And it's with you," said Tatsumaki. "It's with you. I love you."

"I love you too."

Tatsumaki shuddered down onto Secter, gasping at the halfway point. Groaning, she forced herself all the way down, Secter starting to get up in worry but laid back down as Tatsumaki gently pushed on his chest with her hand.

"I'm ok," she said. "I'm ok."

"Ok," said Secter. "You can…go for it."

Tatsumaki nodded, her entire body quivering nonstop. Slowly she raised herself up and then back down, moving in rhythm to Secter's breathing.

"Bit…faster," said Secter, struggling to speak above his repeated gasps.

"Ok," said Tatsumaki. She lowered herself down between his legs then raised herself up quicker than before, repeating the process again and again as Secter twisted his torso beneath her. Tatsumaki could feel him inside of her, and she moaned as she moved. Her heart was hammering away at her ribcage, and part of her almost felt like passing out. But she kept going, every downwards movement sending shivers up her body.

"Faster," said Secter.

"Yes," said Tatsumaki. "Fuck, fuck…"

Her pace quickened, her waist slamming into Secter's as she moved.

"Is that…too much," she breathed.

"Just don't hit as hard," said Secter. "It's good. You?"

"Great," said Tatsumaki. "Going to…explode any second."

"Hah," said Secter, more of an exhale than a word.

Tatsumaki groaned as she moved quicker and quicker, Secter reaching up and pulling her face into his as her body convulsed. They kissed as Tatsumaki's legs started to quiver, and she nearly fell over backwards if it weren't for Secter pulling her forward.

"Fuck!" she yelled. "I can't…I can't! Fuck!"

Secter shuddered as they kissed again, and he reeled backwards as Tatsumaki fell down in one last thrust.

"Holy shit," he groaned. "Agh, Christ Tatsu…holy shit…"

"I…I'm sorry," said Tatsumaki. "I don't know…if I can keep going, my heart, and my body…"

"It's ok…" said Secter. "Pretty sure…I just had an orgasm there."

"Me too," said Tatsumaki. "Me too."

She groaned as she pulled herself off of him, slowly lifting her lower half until she was hovering over Secter's legs. Shuddering, she laid down on top of him, the both of them breathing as if they had just finished a swim of over a hundred miles. Tatsumaki started to giggle as Secter calmed down, and he raised a hand over her head.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"High five," he said.

"What?" she asked. "Why?"

"For you know, our first time."

"Oh my God," said Tatsumaki. "You are the biggest dork I know."

"Ah come on," said Secter. "Why not?"

Shaking her head, Tatsumaki raised her hand and slapped his palm, entwining her fingers with his and bringing both their hands down to the small of her back.

"You…see?" asked Secter. "Communication is key there. And…I think we both enjoyed it."

"I know I did," said Tatsumaki. "I just wanted to go for longer."

"Trust me that takes practice," said Secter. "Usually a lot."

"Oh."

"It's fine though, you did great. No one got hurt, we both got off, we both had a great time, we both feel amazing."

"I feel…like the luckiest person in the world right now," said Tatsumaki.

"Me too," said Secter. "Christ, I'm glad we did this Tatsu."

"Same," said Tatsumaki. "It's kind of messy, but I kind of love it."

"Well that's good," said Secter. "Because I can definitely see more of this in the future if you're up to it…"

"Without a fucking doubt."

Secter chuckled, still barely able to speak or make sounds without his breathing interrupting him.

"Shit," said Tatsumaki. "There was one thing."

"What's that?" asked Secter.

"We forgot the towel."

"Goddamnit."

. . .

A cavalcade of shuffling sounded off from all corners of the massive room, creatures of many shapes and sizes filling various balconies that surrounded the hall with the back of the room shrouded in darkness. They all sat in a circle around a podium the size of a small house, each one nervously glancing at each other and chattering away about what was going to happen next. The muttering and uncomfortable shuffling went on for a while until a giant creature rose from the shadows to stand at the podium. All eyes were now trained on the soon-to-be speaker, its head larger than most of the individual spectators. Cracks adorned the giant monster's stone body, its face hidden by a grinning metal mask with sparkling blue eyes. It laid down one of its six spiked arms down on the steel podium, waiting for the whispering of all the watching monsters to end.

"As the most powerful and senior level dragon threat," said the speaker. "I, Voracidus, have called a meeting of all monsters we could find to discuss this new…hero."

"He looked like a monster!" cried a wormlike being with a mouth full of square teeth. "And yet he kills and traps us left and right!"

"We can't stop him!" yelled another monster. "He's invincible!"

"Calm yourselves," said Voracidus, waving one of his arms into the air. It shivered as it moved, bits of stone held in place all along his arms through blue psychic energy. "We have to formulate a plan. It's true that this Sycamore being has destroyed many of our strongest comrades, but we can still defeat him-"

"There is no hope!" screamed the worm. "Monsterkind is finished!"

"Silence!" yelled Voracidus. He slammed a fist down onto the podium, shattering the top most part into silver splinters. "If we panic and fall apart, we will stand no chance! We must organize an attack on this Sycamore, destroy him in one fell swoop!"

"He doesn't even need the help of other heroes!" shouted another monster, a floating cube dripping with lava and a tiny mouth adorning its molten face. "He goes after us on his own!"

 _I have never seen monsterkind so frightened,_ thought Voracidus. _Is this Sycamore really going to be the end of us?_

"Everyone calm down," said Voracidus. "How…how many dragon level threats do we have today?"

"You're the only one," said the worm. "Hell…you might be the only one left."

"That's…that's impossible," said Voracidus. "How long has Sycamore been here, a week? Surely he couldn't have destroyed that many dragons in that amount of time?"

"We have some demon level threats here," said the cube. "But not many."

"Very well, it'll have to do," said Voracidus. "I shall gather a party of the strongest monsters, and hunt down this Sycamore. Then, we shall go into hiding until we can recover."

"And what if you fail?" asked the worm. "What then?"

Mutterings amongst the monsters. Fear permeated the room.

"I will not fail," said Voracidus. "For all of monsterkind-"

"We don't even understand this Sycamore!" shouted the cube. "We don't understand him, he is beyond us."

"Would you quit whining?!" said Voracidus. "We might not understand him, but if we just keep a level head-"

Voracidus cut himself off when he noticed that all of the monsters in the room were staring behind him. He frowned from behind his metal mask at the looks of pure terror he saw before he started to turn around.

"What?" asked Voracidus. "What is it-"

Behind him, the darkened shadows from whence he had rose were twisting and swirling, black bars of shadow twirling together like the gnarled bark of a tree made from the night sky itself. Looking up, Voracidus caught sight of a massive glowing grin and two yellow eyes, gleaming with joy.

"I am beyond you," said Sycamore as he towered over the stone monster. "That's a good way to put it, actually."

Voracidus flipped back over to the crowd of screaming monsters.

"Everyone, attack-" he began.

Sycamore lunged straight through Voracidus, his face plunging through the back of the stone monster's head. Sycamore's grin glowed through the spot where Voracidus's metal smile was as Voracidus's head melted away. His face completely replacing Voracidus's, Sycamore lifted the monster with his head alone, until he grabbed Voracidus's limp body with both hands and ripped it in two. Shards of stone and strings of red gore flung themselves free from the wreck that was once a monster, and all the spectators shouted and groaned as they got up and started to run towards the nearest exit.

"No, I don't think so," said Sycamore, as his body began to envelop the room with waves of darkness. "It's time to say goodbye."

Soon there was nothing left of the meeting hall other than a flickering pool of black, all of the monsters surrounded and enveloped within. No screams could be heard from the choking darkness, no final looks of terror visible from inside Sycamore's form. Despite this, Sycamore grinned anyway.

. . .

Rays of light peaked out from the nearby window, reflecting off of Tatsumaki's hair onto the ceiling above. She lay flat on top of Secter, her eyes creeping open just as Secter started to move. He kept his arms wrapped around her back, the two of them still naked from last night. Smiling at Secter as he woke, Tatsumaki stretched upwards to reveal more of her torso directly in front of his face. Secter chuckled as she moved.

"Look at you go Tatsu," said Secter. "You're so confident now, I absolutely love it."

"I know," said Tatsumaki. "I like how I look. And I know you do too." She laid back down on top of Secter, letting out a soft sigh as she pressed herself against him.

"I gotta say," said Secter. "I was not expecting you to do what you did last night."

"Hmm?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Well, you know," said Secter. "You uh…swallowed."

"Oh," said Tatsumaki. She turned her head up so that her chin rested on Secter's collarbone. "Well…it's what you did with me, right?"

"I mean, yeah," said Secter.

"I figured you'd like it," said Tatsumaki. "Since I liked it too. When you did it to me anyways."

"That's good," said Secter. "But even still, wow Tatsu. You uh, really had me going there."

"I know," said Tatsumaki. She slid her body up against his until her face was level with Secter's. Hovering over him, she smiled. "I could tell you were really enjoying yourself."

"And you were too?"

"Well duh," said Tatsumaki. "Come on Secter, you're supposed to be the expert at this. I kinda learned a bit from you after all."

Secter laughed.

"I told you I'm not an expert," he said. "Even I make mistakes."

"Yeah, that's true," said Tatsumaki. "But whatever. We'll just need more practice then."

"You were so excited that time," said Secter. "Nowhere near as nervous as the first."

"Well, I had some experience by then I guess you could say. And I knew you loved me, and I wanted you to feel loved, and I just…ugh I don't even know how to describe it. I just felt every part of my being going towards you, felt nothing but passion and love towards you and I wanted you to feel that, for you to feel me loving you instead of just me saying it."

Secter slid one arm up from Tatsumaki's back to the rear of her head and pulled her in close to his face. Tatsumaki leaned down and kissed Secter, her lips meeting his. Secter sat upright as they kissed, neither one of them willing to let go. They eventually separated, with Tatsumaki's breathing turning into heavy exhales and Secter's body starting to quiver.

"I love you so much Tatsu," said Secter, his eyes watering. "More…more than I can describe. I want you to be happy forever, I want you to be with me forever, anything and everything I can do to make you feel loved I want to do."

"Secter…" said Tatsumaki. She blinked as tears began to form under her eyes as well. Like Secter's they were followed by a smile. "Let's stay together, always."

"Always."

Tatsumaki leaned back into him, readying herself for another kissing session.

"You want to go again?" she asked. "Because I'm ready to go right now."

Secter rubbed Tatsumaki's back, a devious smile on his face.

"Oh absolutely," said Secter. "By the way, and I forgot to mention this last night, but if you want, we can do it without a condom."

"What?" asked Tatsumaki, confusion spreading across her face.

"I can use my powers to make myself temporarily infertile," said Secter, shrugging. "Just a thought."

"That…is interesting," said Tatsumaki. "It would be kinda…closer too, I guess. No plastic in between us, just you and me."

"Plastic?" asked Secter. He raised an eyebrow, before a light went off in his head and he chuckled. "Latex, Tatsu. They're made of latex."

"Oh whatever," said Tatsumaki as she crossed her arms. "You know what I mean, I'm not that knowledgeable about all this."

Secter chuckled, his voice soft.

"Even still," he said. "It's an option. Might still want to use the stuff you bought, might feel a bit different."

"I bet it'll be better," said Tatsumaki. "You stay there, I'll be back in a se-"

Tatsumaki's phone buzzed on her nightstand, causing the two tennis balls atop the table to shake. Looking over at her phone, Tatsumaki scrunched her face in confusion.

"Who's calling me?" she asked. She clambered off of Secter, who watched her as she went, from her long pale legs all the way up to her hunched shoulders. Picking up her phone, she glanced over at Secter, and giggled as she caught him checking her out. Smiling to herself, she answered the phone as she turned away from Secter, who smiled as well.

"Oh, the HA?" asked Tatsumaki. "Ugh, fine. One second Secter, this might be something important."

"By all means," he said, yawning at the end of his sentence.

Tapping on her phone, Tatsumaki brought it up to her ear to listen. Secter laid on his side on the bed, eying Tatsumaki's backside up and down. Tatsumaki kept the phone close to her head and said her greeting. She turned around, smiling when she saw Secter still looking at her. Then her smile turned to a frown and she started to clench her phone. Secter lifted himself up, worried about Tatsumaki's newfound expression.

"What?" asked Tatsumaki. "What the hell do you mean?" Her knuckles turning white from her grasp on her phone, she sat back down on the bed next to Secter.

"That's bullshit," she said. "It was just two buildings! I…ugh."

"Tatsu?" asked Secter. "Everything alright?"

"Fine, fine," said Tatsumaki. "Whatever. This organization is broken anyways." She hung up, tossing her phone back onto the nightstand. It clattered to a stop right next to her display case.

"What's wrong?" asked Secter. He pushed himself next to Tatsumaki and embraced her from the backside, his hands wrapping around her stomach. Tatsumaki turned around in her seat and sunk down onto the bed so that she was laying down next to Secter again.

"Fucking HA," said Tatsumaki. "Apparently because I had that little incident with Sycamore, they want to cut my pay. And _apparently,_ one of the officials even went so far as to try to make me a threat!"

"What the fuck?" asked Secter. "It was two buildings!"

"I know right?" asked Tatsumaki. "The whole thing is just…stupid."

"I knew that organization was broken," said Secter. "But a pay cut, eh?"

"We'll be fine, I have plenty of money."

"No it's not that…" said Secter. "Sycamore! I'll bet Sycamore influenced this!"

"Huh?"

"He's putting heroes out of work with all the monsters he's getting rid of, and that can mean less funding for the HA. Crap, that was one thing I wanted to talk to him about but I think I forgot."

"Ugh, you still want to talk to him huh."

"It'd be a good idea," said Secter. "Least I hope. And obviously you can come with if you want."

"Maybe later," said Tatsumaki. "Don't really want to do that now."

"Well yeah, not right now…"

"And I kinda want to meet up with my sis again first," said Tatsumaki. "Then we'll see about Sycamore."

"Sounds good," said Secter.

Tatsumaki sidled up into Secter and embraced him, rubbing her hands up and down his back. Secter smiled and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

"So," said Tatsumaki. "Where did we leave off earlier?"

. . .

Sycamore strode forth from the hole in the ground that once housed the monster's meeting place. His grin was as wide as ever as he spotted the sun rising up from the bottom of the horizon and he sighed, satisfied.

"Phase two goes ahead as planned," he said.

Up ahead, he caught sight of a humanoid ant creature scurrying away from the hole he had emerged from, its many legs twitching as it rushed in the opposite direction of Sycamore. Sycamore teleported in front of the monster, smirking as it came to a screeching halt in front of him. Reaching into his suit jacket, Sycamore rummaged around for a second before snarling.

 _Right,_ he thought. _Secter still has it. You're in the wrong here Secter, like usual._

Sighing, he pointed a finger gun down at the ant-creature and pressed his thumb down onto the side of his hand as if it were the hammer.

"Bang," said Sycamore.

At the sound of his voice, the ant-creature exploded, sending chunks of slimy carapace and a couple of mandibles flying out from where the monster once lay. Sycamore shook his head at the gory mess that he made before turning around and heading back into the nearest city.

 _I wonder where the hell Secter put my gun,_ he thought. _I'll bet…I'll bet that he lives with Tatsumaki, and probably hid it there, but I have no clue where her house is. I could use far-sight, but Secter would see me and nullify me for sure. Nope, looks like I'll have to fucking walk or something._

And walk he did, for hours on end. He passed crowds of people, many of whom waved to him or even cheered his name as he walked by. At first Sycamore gave the passersby shocked looks, but with time he started to wave back, smirking and grinning at all of his fans. Soon he was striding down the street, every step making him look larger than life. The few heroes that he passed by gave him irritated looks, but as usual, he paid them no mind.

The sun rose higher in the sky, and stores and shops began to open for business. Sycamore grumbled as he walked, still unsure of where Secter lived.

 _I'm like a damned celebrity now,_ thought Sycamore. _Kinda nice, actually. Still, now that I've done my part, now I play a bit of the waiting game. Shouldn't have to wait too long though…_

He kept his head down as he walked, heading up a street on a hill to a more isolated neighborhood up ahead. Keeping his gaze to the ground, he bolted upright when he heard a voice drifting down from the top of the hill.

"And maybe get some dinner," said Tatsumaki, walking alongside Secter down the street. "I know a good place."

"Man it's been a while since we've been on a date or something like that," said Secter. "I'd love to go out with you though."

"Then we could go home, maybe light some candles…"

"Now you're talking."

Sycamore narrowed his eyes at the incoming voices and dove over a nearby fence as Secter and Tatsumaki came into view. He watched them walk by through a gap in the fence, frowning as the two of them smiled and laughed as they went along. As they vanished from sight, Sycamore leapt back over the fence and ran up the hill.

 _What luck!_ he thought. _Perhaps they live around here somewhere… I know that Secter probably isn't a threat to me, but honestly I would like that gun back…especially if any other Soulless ever end up finding this place, I wouldn't stay and fight unless I had to or could get the jump on them, but it's nice to have the gun just in case anyways…_

A session of window-peering ensued, with Sycamore glancing all around to make sure that no one was watching or that Secter or Tatsumaki had decided to come back. There were few homes in the area to check, many of which had lights on. When he made it to a house that was illuminated on the inside only by sunlight, he ran around to the back of the home and leapt over the backyard fence. Rushing over to the sliding glass door that led into the back of the house, Sycamore ripped it open and stepped inside.

"Alright," he muttered. "Where did you put my gun, you son of a bitch?"

He strode past the television, his eyes narrowed.

 _Maybe the bedroom?_ he thought.

Stalking over to the hall near the bedroom, Sycamore stopped dead short of the open door at the end of the hall. His face contorted into a mix of shock and confusion.

 _What on earth is that smell?_ he thought. _Oh. Ohhhhhhh. I need to get the fuck out of here._

Swiveling away from the bedroom, his eyes remained wide as he returned to the kitchen and living room areas.

 _Nope, not checking in there,_ thought Sycamore. _But that man…he actually got that close to a human? I mean, I guess he is human as well, but Volunteers and Soulless don't do that, they don't get so close, they don't normally-_

He paused as he neared a closet door.

 _Well, I guess he is different,_ thought Sycamore. _A world apart, even though we were in the same place. A lucky man, lucky indeed…no wonder he holds such different views. How lucky was he, to avoid staying in that place after the war…things only got worse then._

Sycamore opened the closet door and was greeted with the sight of hanging and folded clothes, neatly stacked into piles all arranged on various wooden shelves. Sycamore spotted an array of black dresses stacked under a messier arrangement of t-shirts and jeans clumped together on the shelf above. Narrowing his eyes, Sycamore searched through the clothing and snarled as he found no sign of his weapon. Delving deeper into the closet, he gasped when he saw a series of yellow lights emanating from a pile of unfolded laundry. He snatched the pistol out from the clothes, his mouth opening in a devilish expression of joy.

 _Had this bastard since the beginning of the war,_ he thought. _Carried me through some rough times…ideally I won't need it here, but it's good to have just in case._

Sycamore eyed the side of the pistol, looking over a switch that showed in bold letters the words "stun" and "kill."

 _Forgot it could even do that, extremely rare model, back for the old mp days,_ he thought. _Ah, but now I have it. Good to have it just in case, good to be safe, always good to have a backup plan and to be safe…_

Sycamore retreated from the closet and shut the door. Running back out through the door he came in, he shut the glass door and hopped back over the fence. He stuffed his gun back into his suit jacket and left the house behind, satisfied that his future could be more certain.


	8. Chapter 8

Secter knocked on the door to Saitama's house, Tatsumaki at his side. The door opened to reveal a tired Saitama, his face full of irritation.

"Well if it isn't Saitama," said Secter. "How you doing."

"Fine," said Saitama. "Don't know why everyone keeps showing up at my house when we have a whole dojo we could go to instead, but whatever."

"Beats me," said Secter. "I just heard Fubuki was here, and Tatsu and I wanted to visit her."

"Yeah she's here," said Saitama. "Along with King and Bang and Genos too. Think she's out back, doing whatever it is she does."

"With her group?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Yeah, think so," said Saitama.

"Alright, I'll go see her," said Tatsumaki.

"Why did you want to visit her again?" asked Saitama.

"Because unlike you, I like to visit with my sis," said Tatsumaki. "And catch up with her."

Tatsumaki strode past Saitama, who narrowed his eyes at her. Secter stepped into the house while Saitama closed the door behind them.

"I get the feeling she still doesn't like me much," said Saitama. "Oh well."

"Pretty sure she's just kind of protective over her sis," said Secter. "And doesn't like how you don't seem to care about her, even though Fubuki kind of seems to care about you."

"Look," said Saitama. "She's an acquaintance of mine. She hangs around my house, sometimes without asking for permission. When we first met, she was trying to get me to join her group for her benefit. Granted, it looks like she's changed a bit now, but even still…"

"Fubuki's a good person," said Secter. "And only an acquaintance for you, huh. If that's how you want to see her as, you can go ahead, but don't be surprised if Tatsu or Fubuki aren't the kindest to you in return. Maybe even Bang or King are kinda annoyed at it too, who knows. Maybe I should ask em."

"No," said Saitama. "We're not turning this into an analyzation session about me. I just want to sit back and relax today, got all the groceries I need, got some good games to play with King…"

"We don't need to do a full on analyzation of you," said Secter. "I just think it'd be good for you to be a bit more emotionally open. I assume…that you were distant partly because of your power, that it bored you with life and isolated you from others. I kinda felt the same way when I first got here, but there were other things too…"

"Yeah yeah," said Saitama. "Getting to be that strong kinda bored me. Though, you look like you're doing pretty well with your life right now."

"Yeah," said Secter, smiling. "I was pretty lucky with Tatsu."

"Mmmhmm," said Saitama. "She does seem to like you a lot. But I'll leave you guys be, I gotta go try and beat King again."

"At what?" asked Secter. "Fighting games?"

"Hell, any game by this point," said Saitama. "I just have to _win_."

"Well, there's something to keep you interested at least," said Secter. "Maybe I should try against King too."

"Good luck," said Saitama. "The guy's a monster." He frowned for a second. "Although, I was wondering…how you knew he had no powers."

"I can tell," said Secter. "I've got the ability, I'm about as strong as that Commandant was and probably about as strong as Sycamore."

"Huh," said Saitama. "Interesting."

"Eh," said Secter. "Used to it by now."

Saitama gave a nod and headed back to the living room to join King and Genos, while Secter walked out to the backyard to find Tatsumaki looking over at Fubuki. The taller esper was patting Lily's shoulder while she rubbed at her eyes, a pink pamphlet in hand. Many of the others in Fubuki's group looked just as distraught.

"It's ok," said Fubuki. "Just because the HA doesn't list some of you guys, doesn't mean that I'm kicking you out of the group, and it certainly doesn't mean you guys aren't heroes."

Tatsumaki turned as Secter approached, concern in her eyes.

"Looks like you were right," said Tatsumaki. "Sycamore is messing things up."

Fubuki looked up from Lily.

"What do you mean?" asked Fubuki.

"Since Sycamore is killing all the monsters without help, the HA is gonna lose funding," said Secter. "If we don't need the HA to kill monsters, then people won't give it money. And if they lose money, they'll have to start cutting members out."

"Oh," said Fubuki. "It…it must be getting bad, because it looks like they're cutting B-class members out now."

 _Between this and them managing to retake and imprison Psykos again, the HA is really getting on my nerves,_ thought Fubuki.

"They also threatened to make me a threat after I destroyed a couple of buildings after talking to Sycamore, and gave me a pay cut," said Tatsumaki. "The HA might be on its way out. But…like Fubuki said guys." She turned to Fubuki's group. "That doesn't mean you guys can't be heroes or something."

"Thank you Miss Tatsumaki," said Lily. "You're a lot nicer than you used to be."

Tatsumaki gave a little frown.

"Uh, thanks," she said.

"Wait," said Fubuki. "You destroyed some stuff when you went to go talk to Sycamore?"

"I…got a little heated," said Tatsumaki. "Angry that Sycamore did what he did, and then he insulted Secter. Secter helped me calm down though, which is probably a good thing."

"Now I have to talk to Sycamore again," said Secter. "This is what I was worried about, he's upsetting the balance of the world."

"Are we gonna stick together?" asked Lily through a quivering voice. "Even though…even though I'm not a hero anymore?"

"Hey," said Fubuki, bringing Lily in closer. "You're all still heroes to me. And you guys are my friends, we're sticking together no matter what."

Lily sniffed and embraced Fubuki. Hugging her back, Fubuki smiled as all of the rest of her group shuffled in for a group hug.

Secter walked over to Tatsumaki, who was smiling at the group embrace before her. Looking over at Secter as he approached, she laid her head into his side as he slid his hand across her back and over to her opposite side.

"Think we should stick around for a bit?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah that'd be nice," said Tatsumaki.

"You want to do dinner here, or go to the other place?" asked Secter.

"We can stay, it's fine," said Tatsumaki. "Wouldn't mind being with you and Fubuki for a while tonight. And maybe even people like Bang too. And Saitama, so long as he doesn't do anything idiotic."

"Can't promise anything," said Secter. "He's still pretty distant, but he seems ok with us staying I think."

"More like he won't muster the energy to make us leave," said Tatsumaki. "But we can stay, for my sis too."

"Sounds good."

"Even then, I might have an idea of something we can do tonight…"

"What?" asked Secter, flashing a smile at her.

"I'll tell you later," said Tatsumaki. "Kinda want to relax with you tonight."

"That also sounds really nice."

With the group separating, they followed Tatsumaki and Secter back into the house, where the rest of the group was waiting in the living room. Saitama was slumped over on the couch, giving a dead stare to his controller. A thin sheen of sweat covered the handles on the controller. Next to Saitama sat King, who looked ready to do something else. Bang and Genos stood behind the couch, neither one of them surprised at the outcome on the television.

"We're back," said Secter. "King winning?"

"He always does," said Saitama. "I hate all videogames now."

"Hang on," said Secter. "I think I know this game, might've played it when I was back on the othe- back when I was growing up."

"Give it a shot," said Saitama. He tossed his controller on the ground and got up from the couch to join Bang and Genos to watch. "And good luck."

Secter sat down next to King, and grimaced as he picked up the still-wet controller. Fubuki, her group, and Tatsumaki all crowded around the couch to watch as well.

"Good luck Secter," said Tatsumaki. "King's way too good at these games."

"Just have lots of practice," said King. "It's not really that complicated."

"Well, let's see how you fare against a former master," said Secter. "I used to play this all the time against my siblings."

Tatsumaki and Fubuki gave sad looks to one another.

"Alright then," said King. "Pick a fighter."

With Secter and King having picked their characters, the game opened on a beautiful stage complete with pixelated waterfalls. King's character sprinted at Secter's, and narrowly missed the first attack to Secter's character's head. Secter followed up with an uppercut, knocking King's character away.

"Nice one," said Saitama. "Good counter."

"I don't understand this game at all," said Bang. "What's with the flashing meter at the top? Why can't you go sideways, into the background?"

"Just watch the game," said Saitama.

King's fighter had managed to land two blows on Secter's, but Secter slammed his finger down onto the controller to have his fighter dodge and sweep King's fighter's legs. Following up with a devastating combo, King squinted when he saw his character was at half health.

"Whoa," said Saitama.

"Yikes King," said Fubuki. "Losing your touch?"

"Not at all," said King. "But now I play for real."

"Yeah ok," said Secter. "As if you weren't playing for real before."

King concentrated on the virtual battle before him, his fingers moving faster than the eye could track. He landed two combos in a row on Secter, causing Secter to reel back in his seat. His fighter was at twenty-five percent health.

"Well, it was a good shot," said Saitama. "But it's over now."

"Not yet," said Secter.

He pushed upwards on the thumbstick and unleashed a flurry of blows at King, all of which fell apart as King's fighter dodged. Narrowing his eyes, Secter waited for the next attack from King, and when it came, he parried it away to attack King's character right down the center and to leave him open for a long-winded combo. By the time King managed to escape, his character was down to ten percent health.

"Oh my God!" said Saitama. "Oh my God! Secter! You have to win! Kick his ass!"

Genos leaned in closer, while Bang stared at the screen in confusion. Every member of the Blizzard Group, including Fubuki herself, gazed in awe at the sudden display of King coming so close to defeat. Tatsumaki crossed her arms and smiled.

"You've got this Secter," said Tatsumaki. "Kick his ass."

"Go Secter!" yelled some of the members in the Blizzard Group. "He beat us bad, but you got this!"

Secter cheesed at the screen, but gasped when King pummeled his character back. Five percent health.

"Kick his ass!" yelled Saitama. "Get him!"

"It's too close," said Fubuki. "I don't know…"

"Did you try the select button?" asked Bang.

"Bang!" yelled Saitama. "Don't help him! I've never gotten King this low on health, Secter has to win!"

"Concentrating," said Secter.

With a great inhale, Secter charged his character forward and managed to land some more blows on King's character, bringing King down to three percent health.

"Oh my God, he might do this," said Fubuki. "You've got this Secter."

"Beat him!" yelled Saitama. "He's got to lose sometime!"

"Go Secter!" yelled Tatsumaki.

 _Why is everyone telling him to kick my ass?_ thought King. _Then again, I guess I did trash everyone here in this game, so…_

A bead of sweat ran down from King's forehead to his cheek, and his mouth twitched as he controlled his character to fall back. Secter rushed in, hoping to land the finishing blow.

"You got him!" yelled Saitama. "You got him!"

Secter's character reeled back to unleash a final punch to King's character. To his dismay, he was blocked and stunned into a combo, from which there was no escape. By the end of it, Secter's character lay on the ground, unconscious.

"No!" yelled Saitama. "But you were so close!"

"Dammit," said Secter. "King is _good_ at this."

King set his controller down, shocked when it slid from his hands due to a slippery sheen that covered the handles.

"Well done Secter," said King. "Best fight I've had in a while."

"Rematch!" yelled Saitama. "Rematch!"

"Alright alright," said Secter. "But can we get some food first? Kinda getting hungry over here."

"I will order pizza," said Genos. "If that's alright with you, master."

"Yeah, that's fine," said Saitama. "Make sure everyone gets what they want."

After everyone had inputted their orders, the game was on again, stretching for hours as the whole group created a makeshift tournament with each person playing. Tatsumaki and Bang were the first ones to go, with Tatsumaki giving little effort and Bang playing while thinking the left thumbstick was the way to aim a punch. The sun began to dip in the sky outside as everyone ate their pizza, and Saitama found himself smiling and cheering as Secter and King clashed again in the finals. Secter ended up losing to King in a best two out of three battle but managed to beat King in one of the rounds, prompting a cheer from the bald hero. When the fighting was over, Secter and Tatsumaki cuddled up on the couch together while the Blizzard Group told stories of all the fights they had been in. Everyone listened in to the conversation, with Saitama occasionally looking up from his meal to add to the stories people shared. The night went on with many of the people in the group laughing and talking, and Tatsumaki warmed herself up in a blanket which she draped over her and Secter. She smiled at the group assembled before her while she cozied up next to Secter. Somehow, everything felt right.

. . .

With the moon glaring down from above, Sycamore watched from behind a building as a steady stream of heroes shuffled inside another building across the street. When the line of people finally vanished inside, Sycamore waited for another few minutes before crossing the street and entering the place himself. He came to a door to a basement and he slid up against it to listen to the voices he could hear on the other side.

"Hello everyone," said Mumen Rider from the room apart from Sycamore. "I've gathered you all here today because many of you have probably just lost your position with the HA. This could mean you have lost part of your salary, or maybe you just feel like you don't have a place in the world anymore. Well, I'm here to tell you that we can still be heroes even if the HA doesn't have a place for us."

Murmurings and chattering amongst an invisible crowd.

"I want to form a community group of lower-class heroes," said Mumen Rider. "All are free to join or leave as they want. It'll kind of be like a support group for everyone who has lost their position, and can give us hero jobs to go after criminals and such. Sycamore hasn't targeted any human criminals thus far, so we can focus on them as opposed to monsters who are getting…rarer to see."

More mutterings, some exclamations of approval.

"So I hope you all can settle down, and relax," said Mumen Rider. "We have some games here to play, and some refreshments for everyone to enjoy in this confusing time. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, or even take a flyer from the table over there-"

Sycamore burst through the door, a crowd of shocked heroes turning to face him. Mumen Rider stood atop of a carpet with a microphone blocking the view of his mouth, but Sycamore and everyone else heard him gasp.

"Excellent, Mumen Rider!" yelled Sycamore. "You've really outdone yourself!"

The heroes gave a mix of glares and confused glances to the alien in the silver suit. Sycamore didn't return the looks.

"Uh," said Mumen Rider. "Sycamore?"

"Isn't he the one who's been killing all the monsters?" asked a woman with chains for arms.

"Yeah, also the one who took our jobs," said another hero.

"I might have taken the monster hunting out of the equation," said Sycamore, raising a hand to his chest. "Which you should be grateful for, honestly. But, like Mumen Rider said, I didn't target human criminals. That I can leave to you, my fine fellow heroes."

 _Fine fellow heroes?_ thought Mumen Rider. _Didn't he say I was ineffective and cannon fodder?_

 _These people are complete cannon fodder,_ thought Sycamore. _Trash. Let them grow into their own little thing, nurture them if need be…_

"Because of you, we lost our jobs!" shouted another hero.

"Then get new ones," said Sycamore. His expression melted from jovial to irritated. "For now, I think this group is a wonderful idea. Since I, the senior most hero on the planet, am here to help all of you."

"That's not what you told me," said Mumen Rider. "You made a pretty big difference between heroes that you thought were effective and heroes you thought were heroic."

"Well, now you have the chance to be both," spat Sycamore. "Perhaps you were useless against monsters, now you have the chance to be real heroes against other humans."

The motley crew of assembled heroes exchanged glances with one another. Whispers and murmurings could be heard throughout the room.

"And this group…would be a great way to start," said Sycamore. "You can all go from worthless to being true heroes now. As a matter of fact, I like this group idea so much, that I'll help you get it started." He turned to a nearby table and snatched up a mound of yellow flyers, all of which boldly called for the attention of any former HA heroes in large black letters.

"Ah-" said Mumen Rider.

"Have no fear, have no fear," said Sycamore. "I am going to get you all on the right track. You all have fun now!"

The heroes watched as Sycamore scrambled out of the room with his flyers, many of them still keeping the same annoyed expression at him as when Sycamore first came in.

Rushing out of the basement, Sycamore ran through the streets like a racing hound, plastering flyers to every streetlight, every store window, and every telephone pole he could find. He tossed bundles of flyers to homes where he used his vision to peer through and see heroes with pink pamphlets within their houses lived, and showed random heroes walking through the streets the yellow sheets of paper advertising Mumen Rider's group. At one point he passed a house where his vision was nullified, and Sycamore gasped as he threw a flyer over at the front porch of the home. Dashing from the house, he turned just in time to see a confused Secter pick up the flyer and watch him run. Finding a few more homes to toss bundles of flyers at, Sycamore dusted his hands off after he threw his last one.

He made his way back to his ship, approaching the door as the moon hung high in the night sky. As it opened, a series of black shadows seeped across the interior wall of the ship, and Sycamore gasped. Covering his head with his hands, he fell to his knees, waiting for the inevitable bolts of yellow energy to come at him or the threats to start pouring from the groups' venomous mouths. When no sound came, Sycamore glanced back up to see that his ship was empty. His shoulders collapsing down, Sycamore stepped into his ship and let the door close behind him. Sitting down on his couch, Sycamore made himself some coffee and watched the interior of his ship in silence. Even as the moon fell, Sycamore would not close his eyes.

. . .

For the first time in months, construction vehicles plowed into Z-city. Rubble and dusty wreckage alike were pushed out of the way, rousing clouds of dust for a group of workers to wade their way through. Sycamore watched from a sidewalk across a grey street, grinning as the workers looked over to him. Initially they looked worried, but upon spotting Sycamore many smiled back at him.

"That the Monster Destroyer?" asked one of the workers to another.

"Yeah, that's him," said a man in a hard hat.

"He looks like a bit of a monster himself…" said the first worker.

"Don't say that!" said the second worker. "That guy's a real hero. Killed so many monsters that he's almost put the HA out of business, they don't even need lower class heroes anymore!"

Upon seeing the shocked look on the first worker's face, Sycamore's grin turned into a massive gate of elongated black teeth, and he chuckled to himself as he spun away from the group of construction workers. As he walked away from the group, he spotted a trio of suited and sweaty individuals approaching him. Sycamore halted as the men drew close.

"Can I help you?" asked Sycamore.

"We're a group of business owners," said the man in front of the trio, a shaky stick of a being with black hair acting as a mop over his skull. "Used to provide a good amount of donations and funding to the Hero Association."

Sycamore raised an eyeline.

"But…" said the man. "We wanted to talk to you, Mister Sycamore, and thank you for all you've done."

"Yes, yes," said a chubby man in the back. "You've really saved humankind from the scourge of monsters!"

"You've done so much," said the group leader. "My family…they can finally rest easy. My daughter will never have to go to school fearing she might be attacked ever again."

Sycamore's eyes widened. From deep inside, he felt the center of his chest tighten to the point of soreness. Raising a hand over his chest, he beat the middle of his ribcage a couple of times until the pain subsided.

"Well…" said Sycamore. "I am glad to hear it, I suppose…"

"And because you've done so much, we would not only like to thank you, but to offer you a permanent suite at my best hotel," said the man in front. "And on top of that, we'd like to throw you a little celebration, we've been planning it for a little while now."

"Is…is that so?" asked Sycamore. "A suite you say? And a celebration?"

"Yes, at the Morris Hotel," said the man in front. "And we're having a little celebration of you and your efforts right outside of the hotel, and would be honored if you'd like to show up-"

"Of course I would!" said Sycamore, clapping his hands together. "How considerate of you all!"

"Well," said the man in front, beaming. "If you would like us to lead you there-"

"That would be excellent," said Sycamore. His mind already pictured a grand suite filled with fur-covered couches, a vista soaked in red sunlight, and a television taller than a basketball player.

"Great!" said the black-haired man. "If you will follow us…"

Sycamore walked with the trio back to the nearest city, his hands clenched together in excitement at the thought of his new home while the others talked about how impressive his achievements were.

"Yes yes, destroyed much of what was left of the monsters yesterday," said Sycamore. "Very few demon threats left, probably not even any dragon threats…"

"That…that's amazing Mister Sycamore!" shouted the trio.

"Only you would be able to do such a thing," said the hotel owner.

"Of course," said Sycamore. "Only me."

They made it to the hotel, an otherwise ordinary brown brick building with a pointed spire at the top. Sycamore eyed the place with suspicion, but as he followed the trio into the lobby, a massive smile spread across his face.

It was just as he imagined, red carpet and expensive furniture aligning the area. Staff dressed in ironed white attire scurried around the lobby area, some of them bringing trays of fruit and plates of mini desserts over to a roped-off room to the right. Sycamore gawked at the crystal chandelier that hung above him, his walk dreamlike as he followed the trio up a series of stairs.

"Right up to the top floor, first door you see coming out," said the hotel owner. "Here is your key, good sir."

Sycamore dragged his gaze away from the chandelier to the man in front of him and snatched up the red keycard which the hotel owner was presenting. The hotel owner nodded to Sycamore as he entered the elevator alone.

"The celebration starts in about twenty minutes," said the hotel owner. "Right downstairs, outside of the hotel. Hope to see you then!"

Sycamore said nothing as the elevator doors closed. Higher and higher he went, rising far above the lower levels to the highest floor of the building. When the elevator doors opened, Sycamore stretched one leg out to take a massive step into the corridor. In front of him was a wooden door, the key reader slot calling out to him like a tiny voice in the darkness. Sycamore marched over to the door and inserted the card, watching with his hands clasped together beneath his chin as it opened for him. With the door opened, Sycamore stepped into the room and slammed the door behind him.

A series of shiny window panes made up the back of the wall, a mahogany desk in front of them. Red carpet showed the way straight to the desk while rows of velvet couches were aligned against the milk white walls. Just like in the lobby, a chandelier hung from above, rays of rainbow light reflecting off from the sun into the crystals which held each individual lightbulb.

Sycamore shambled over to the desk, noticing the wheeled chair that stood behind it. Leaping over the wooden platform, he landed in the chair and swept himself around to face the entrance. Giggling, he tapped the top of his desk before leaning back and crossing his arms, as if he were listening to some invisible interview. Sycamore spun around in his chair, again and again until the world turned into a blurry tornado. Laughing, Sycamore lunged out of the chair and found a sliding glass door out to a balcony. Hanging vines swayed in the wind next to the door, while a row of colorful flowers aligned the white stone bannister on the balcony. Sycamore skirted over to the bannister and laid an arm on it. Then he looked down below.

Far down was a swarming mass of black with several twisted, shadowy arms. It contorted and writhed as if it were being strangled alive. Sycamore laughed at it, pointing and tilting his head back in utter victory. Screeching, the mass of black started to swim upwards, yellow eyes gleaming out from its oozing body and glowing mouths opening and closing from pockmarks on its skin. Sycamore waggled a finger at the creature, only serving to make it crawl faster. It swam up the side of the building, outstretching its arms to grab the laughing Soulless in the silver suit. As one of its hands reached Sycamore's balcony, Sycamore turned around and leapt up to the tiled dome that adorned the top of the building, just beneath the antennae-like spire. The creature scrambled towards him in hot pursuit.

Laughing, Sycamore crawled up the dome inch by inch, until he felt a hand snake around his ankle. Turning back, Sycamore shook his head at the moaning creature, and looked back to the spire. He dug his fingers into the tile and hoisted himself up, tearing tiny pieces of the dome asunder as he dragged himself and the creature with him. As he reached the base of the spire, Sycamore kicked at the monster, and its grasp slipped away as it tumbled back down from the dome. Sycamore smirked and lifted himself up to the spire, twirling and swinging around the pole as the creature crashed into his balcony. He had won.

Sycamore watched as the creature dissipated and he outstretched a hand as he swung himself around the spire. He stopped dead short when he saw a makeshift stage far down below near the entrance of the hotel, complete with a podium, a small crowd, and a camera crew. Grinning, Sycamore leapt from the roof.

He landed down onto the stage, crashing into the wood yet not making a sound. The assorted crowd and crew alike gasped at Sycamore's sudden entrance but began to clap when Sycamore outstretched his arms as if he were trying to give them a hug. Next to Sycamore, by the podium stood the hotel owner, just as surprised to see Sycamore as everyone else was.

"Oh, you're a little early," said the hotel owner. "But if you want to say some words, of course I won't stop you."

Sycamore turned around behind him to look at the hotel owner, but his gaze shifted to a banner that hung from the back of the stage. It read:

THANK YOU

Beneath the words was Sycamore's name, outlined in glaring yellow lightbulbs. His name shone against the backdrop of the stage, over Sycamore's suit, perhaps over everybody. Turning back around, Sycamore grinned wider when he saw the crowd melt into the same creature that had been chasing him before, writhing and snarling as it lay flat on the street while Sycamore glared at it from above.

 _Yes,_ thought Sycamore. _Truly, I have won. I have escaped the old place. I have made myself anew! A real hero! Living in high class! I have made myself a new person, a new life. No more suffering for this man, oh no. I am above all. And as for the humans, they can…well, they can…_

He swallowed as he realized what his answer was, but before he could finish his thought, a voice interrupted him.

"Um, Mister Sycamore?" asked the hotel owner.

"What?" asked Sycamore. He snapped to attention, and the creature faded away to reveal a confused crowd.

"Was there anything you wanted to say?" asked the hotel owner.

"Oh," said Sycamore. "Why yes! Yes!" He pointed to the camera crew, one of whom had set up a bulky news camera aimed at the stage. "Is that thing on?"

The cameraman gave him an index finger to the sky, followed by a thumbs up.

"Excellent," said Sycamore. He drifted over to the podium, grinning at all of those who were assembled before him. "As you all know, I am Sycamore, and I have done a great deal to get rid of all of the monsters. So much in fact, that I have left the Hero Association and the Neo Heroes reeling." He chuckled.

"I have become the best a hero can be," said Sycamore. "No more will you toil with the ineffective or greedy yet powerful heroes, but instead with a being such as I, who will make all of humankind safe. Of course, once the monsters are gone, I leave it up to the heroes to decide what they shall do, but in the meantime, all will rejoice when I have finally wiped out the monsters from the map, all due to the efforts of the illustrious Sycamore!" He raised both of his arms into the air, his suit pushing open to reveal its inner red lining. Cheers went out from the crowd at his words and Sycamore tilted his head to the air, basking in the attention.

. . .

Secter scratched his forehead as he heard the shower start to run, his hair still messy from when he got up. Grumbling, he shuffled over to the dresser and opened the top drawer, eying the potential combinations of clothes he could wear for the day.

"Hey, Secter," called Tatsumaki from the bathroom.

"Yeah?" asked Secter.

"Come here for a second."

"Ok."

Secter walked into the bathroom, spotting Tatsumaki peeking out from behind the shower curtain. Her hair was already drenched with water, and steam billowed out from above her head and across the ceiling.

"What is it?" asked Secter.

"Do we have any plans for today?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Not that I know of," said Secter. "Really the only thing on my to do list was finding out how many heroes are being affected by these layoffs and talking to Sycamore."

"Ah," said Tatsumaki. "Ok. Maybe I'll come with you, don't really have any plans with sis or anyone else."

"Sounds good," said Secter. "And you know, it was nice hanging out with everyone last night."

"It…was," said Tatsumaki. "More than I thought it would be."

"Ahhhhh, looks like Tatsu is warming up to having more friends."

"Yeah yeah, so long as they aren't annoying or mean to you or Fubuki."

"I mean, King and Bang aren't mean, Saitama's just a little…distant. Although he asked me to come over again and teach him how to beat King, so apparently videogames are the way to his heart."

"Well good luck with opening him up," said Tatsumaki. "I honestly don't care too much so long as he doesn't hurt you or Fubuki."

"I doubt he could hurt me, but your sis…"

"Yeah."

"Well, that was really the main reason I wanted to talk to em."

"Looking out for me and my sis," said Tatsumaki. "Always like to look out for people."

"I do."

"And I'll always love you for it," said Tatsumaki. "And speaking of love…why don't you come in here for a bit? Don't you need to shower too?" She gave a little smile to Secter.

"Well, yeah," said Secter. "Wait, you trying to say you want to go right now?"

"Maybe, maybe not," said Tatsumaki. "You'll have to come in here to find out."

Secter laughed.

"My God Tatsu, you're flirty today," said Secter. "You've been flirtier ever since the first time."

Tatsumaki pulled back the shower curtain to reveal herself, her body glistening wet. Secter straightened up by the sink.

"I like flirting with you," said Tatsumaki. "And we don't have to go all the way, but I do want you in here…"

"I like this side of you," said Secter. "Christ, it's hot."

Tatsumaki ran a hand down the center of her chest.

"Well," she said. "Come on in then. Help me get clean, and I'll help you get clean."

Secter smiled and took off his underwear, stepping into the shower with Tatsumaki. They washed each other and kissed as the water flowed around them. Eventually they came to hold one another in each other's arms, steam rising above their heads as they leaned their foreheads together, hearts and breathing in-sync. Secter and Tatsumaki clung to each other as the water rushed around them, with Secter pushing Tatsumaki's head into his chest and Tatsumaki rubbing his back. Tatsumaki wanted to stay in the embrace forever, but pulled herself away as the water started to run cold. Reaching for the faucet, Tatsumaki turned off the water.

"We were in there for that long?" asked Secter.

"I guess so," said Tatsumaki. "We held each other for a while."

"It was nice," said Secter.

"It really was," said Tatsumaki. "It still feels so special to be with you."

"Aww, thanks Tatsu," said Secter. "I love being with you too."

Tatsumaki clambered out of the shower, shivering from the cool water that had hit her not moments before. Pulling a towel over her head and another over her body, she stumbled into the bedroom while Secter searched for a towel himself.

As Tatsumaki reached her bed, her phone buzzed on the table. It was the HA.

"Ugh, now what?" asked Tatsumaki. "Are they going to give me another warning because I kicked a pebble down the street yesterday?"

Secter snickered as he left the bathroom, a green towel around his waist.

"Sounds like something they'd do," said Secter.

"Alright, I'll take this," said Tatsumaki. "But only because you're interested in how many heroes they've fired."

"Ah, thanks Tatsu. Don't know if they'll say though."

"They fucking better. They owe me an apology for what they've done anyways."

Tatsumaki picked up the phone and answered it, bringing it to her ear as a man on the other end began to speak.

"Miss Tornado?" asked Sitch.

"Yes, what is it," said Tatsumaki. Irritation seeped from her tone.

"I'm sorry about the way the HA is treating you," said Sitch. "But we have an emergency meeting today, a conglomerate meeting with the Neo Heroes, and we desperately need you to be there. We're trying to gather as many heroes as we can to figure out what we should do with Sycamore out in the field."

"Why do you need me to figure that out?" asked Tatsumaki.

"The decision we make could end up impacting you as well as all heroes."

"Right…funding is that low huh."

"It's…not getting better. Monster sightings have only gone down and well…we have some things to show you and the other heroes."

Tatsumaki groaned.

"Fine, but make it quick," said Tatsumaki. "You're lucky I'm not busy today."

"Thank you, thank you Miss Tornado," said Sitch. "You won't regret this."

"We'll see," said Tatsumaki. "And hey, before you go, how many heroes has the HA laid off?"

Silence. Then, a shuffling sound.

"Technically…I'm not at liberty to say," said Sitch. "But you are top of the S-class, and are doing us a favor…so if I had to guess, probably in the hundreds. Only the top of B-class survived our first cut. And by the end of today, we might only have the S-class and some of the A-class left."

Tatsumaki narrowed her eyes.

"It's…that serious huh," said Tatsumaki. "But what are all those other heroes going to do for money?"

"They'll just have to get normal jobs, perhaps even fight street criminals. I've heard Mumen Rider and some others have started their own group to do so."

"Huh," said Tatsumaki. "Interesting. Well, when is this meeting?"

"Come as soon as possible," said Sitch.

"I'll get there when I get there," said Tatsumaki. "See you later."

"Goodbye, Miss Tornado."

Tatsumaki hung up the phone and set it down on her nightstand. Turning back to Secter, she frowned as she saw him using his arm to prop himself up against the doorframe to the bathroom.

"Apparently they've demolished almost all of B and C-class," said Tatsumaki. "And after today, might only be S-class and some A-class left."

"Jesus," said Secter. "That bad huh?"

"Apparently."

"Well," said Secter. "Hopefully the heroes can find something to do."

"Apparently Mumen Rider made a support group or something for heroes to fight regular criminals. Don't think Sycamore has gone after them."

"No, I don't think so. Might be worth mentioning that to Fubuki and her group."

"Maybe…" said Tatsumaki. "But I'm starting to see what you mean, with Sycamore destroying the balance of the world and all that. Don't get me wrong, I don't like monsters, but he's doing this all too fast, people can't keep up…"

"Yeah, and I think he knows this," said Secter. "Maybe even planned it. He seems to think humankind will cripple or destroy itself once the monsters are gone. Don't know why he would want that, or even care."

"No idea," said Tatsumaki. "But…we should be careful around him, Secter. I still don't trust him."

"Me neither," said Secter. "But I do see good in him, and I want to bring it out."

"Maybe…" said Tatsumaki. She turned back to her phone. "But I have to go to another stupid meeting, so I guess I'll see you when I get out."

"Alright, alright. Maybe I'll do some stuff in the meantime."

Tatsumaki and Secter went on to get ready for the day, with both of them getting dressed and heading out to the living room. Tatsumaki kissed Secter and told him that she'd be back soon before heading out the door, and Secter headed into the kitchen as she closed the front door behind her. Making himself a bacon and lettuce sandwich, Secter plopped down on the couch and picked up the remote. Turning on the television landed him right on the news channel, and Secter spent the next ten minutes flipping through channels before finally giving up and settling back on the news. He leaned back in his seat with the sandwich now in his stomach, and he sighed. Readying himself to get back up, he froze when Sycamore suddenly appeared on the screen, shouting to a group of people assembled before a hotel.

Secter leaned forward, confused as to what was happening. Sycamore said a few more words, his grin radiating like the sun off of a car windshield. Then he flipped his suit open in celebration of himself. Secter shook his head at Sycamore's ridiculous display, but then he froze. In the left hand side of Sycamore's suit jacket, jutting out from a layer of red, was the handle of a gun, small enough to belong to a pistol. As the television switched back to a news reporter, Secter bolted over to the closet. Ripping the door open, he rummaged through the piles of clothes which aligned the shelves of the closet. Frantic, Secter tore through every inch of the tiny room, yet found no sign of his query. The gun was gone.

. . .

Sitch clasped his hands together at the assorted group of high A-class and almost all of the S-class HA heroes, Neo Heroes, and HA officials all assembled in the grand hall before him. He nodded down at Tatsumaki, who shook her head at him. When everyone was settled in, the arguing began.

"We have no funding!" yelled an official of the HA. "One of Metal Knight's drones last saw Sycamore heading into a monster encampment and he wiped the whole place out! Monster sightings are down to near zero!"

Tatsumaki glanced over to a hanging monitor which showed the lower half of Dr. Bofoi's face, his teeth jutting out over his bottom jaw.

"Yes, we are also low on funds," said Accel, who sat with his compatriots across from all of the HA staff. "Sycamore has done our job…and done it quickly."

"Far faster than anyone could've anticipated!" yelled an HA official. "No one saw this coming !"

"He moved too quick," said Tatsumaki. "But it's too late now."

"This begs the question as to what we should do," said Sitch. "Clearly, we do not have the funds to pay our B-class and even most of our A-class heroes anymore. Some even question why the organization still exists by this point."

"Well, I'm still going to go on being a hero!" said Darkshine, crossing his arms over his chest. "Even if there's no monsters, I'll still train every day I can."

"You can feel free to do that," said Sitch. "Or even go after criminals like Mumen's group is doing. I'm just worried with lack of oversight-"

"We might have to change our tactics," said Accel. "Change from an organization that organizes heroes to one that watches over them."

"What, you don't trust us?" asked Metal Bat. "You sayin we're going to do bad things once we're out of this place?"

"I only trust those I know," said Accel. "Once the monsters are gone, it might not be a bad idea to have a kind of regulatory agency. Spearheaded by us of course, as the HA has proven its ineffectiveness."

"We can get to all of that later," said Sitch. "For now, we should discuss how we will continue with the funds we have."

"The Neo Heroes are already dismantling themselves and forming watch groups," said Accel. "For heroes and criminals alike. We can't operate for as big as we are with as little funding as we have."

"We…might have to do the same," said Sitch. "Apologies to all of our heroes, but starting as of today and tomorrow, only the top of A-class and all of S-class will be in our paygrade. And even then, we can't guarantee to keep you guys either."

"What?" asked Metal Bat. "You mean I have to get a real job now?"

"Something like that would be tough for me," said Pig God. "Hero work is all I know."

"I know, I know," said Sitch. "But with no monsters, we're…"

"We need to figure out how this Sycamore operates," said Dr. Bofoi through his monitor. "We still do not understand him, or his technology. I wasn't able to recover anything from the previous member of his species who was here, I was wondering if Miss Tornado knew anything about that…"

"Probably got destroyed in the rubble," said Tatsumaki. "But what the hell do you care for, Sycamore's already decimated the monsters! You're too late."

Dr. Bofoi snarled through the screen.

"Well," said Atomic Samurai. "This isn't good. I'd prefer to keep my disciples around, don't know what they'll do without the pay and stature."

"Well, we'll just have to make do," said Sitch. "I know this is sudden, but with Sycamore acting so quickly-"

A swarm of darkness emanated from the front entrance and coagulated into a humanoid form at the end of the table that the HA heroes sat at. Before anyone could react, Sycamore had reformed himself into his normal form before everyone, towering over them all. He slammed his hands down at the end of the table and grinned.

"And so efficiently," said Sycamore. Chuckling at the shocked looks he received, Sycamore leaned back and crossed his arms. "Oh come on, you didn't think you were going to hold a meeting this big about me without me showing up, did you? I was busy at the hotel a second ago, but this I just couldn't miss."

"You-" said Sitch.

"It is I, the illustrious Sycamore," he said. "And all around me, are the heroes of the higher class, the so-called effective heroes, although…" He paused to look at each one of the S-class and the few A-class in attendance.

"Puri Puri and Sweet Mask heroes?" asked Sycamore. "I don't think so. Pig God? Bit too ineffective for me. Watchdog Man, Metal Bat, Tatsumaki…all good candidates for being heroes, effective, perhaps Darkshine as well…everyone else, like Atomic Samurai and Metal Knight, are far too up their own ambitions and morals to be real heroes."

Atomic Samurai got up from his seat along with Metal Bat, Drive Knight and Sweet Mask.

"Oooh," said Sycamore. "Is that your resolution to this? Violence? Is that how a real hero is supposed to act?"

"You're the one who's been causing all this trouble," said Atomic Samurai. "And about to put us out of a job."

"Oh boo hoo," said Sycamore. "Such a shame that the _heroes_ are so concerned about stature, when they should be concerned about the people. I mean, I killed all the monsters! Well, most of them at least. You should be happy for that, even if your little organization is crumbling around you."

Silence. Nothing but venom from most of the heroes. Tatsumaki and Sitch both eyed Sycamore with suspicion.

"However…" said Sycamore. "Perhaps you, the more effective heroes, would do well to learn from the cannon fodder like Mumen Rider. He's actually doing something productive now instead of whining about pay." Sycamore burst out laughing. "As if any of you need to worry about pay."

"You can't just come in and change the world on a whim," said Tatsumaki. "Surely you know it's going to make people angry."

"Well yes…" said Sycamore. "But this is a positive thing, right? No more civilian deaths! And now you heroes-" He gestured to the S-class. "Can focus on your own…pursuits. Like how about you, Bofoi? Gonna get into arms dealing now that heroes don't need weapons and cities don't need to be rebuilt? And how about you Drive Knight? Maybe an assassin? And what about you Puri Puri? Is it back to prison or do you roam the streets with no oversight, you pre-"

"Alright that's enough!" yelled Sitch. "We get it, you don't trust the S-class. We prefer to have a bit more faith in them then people like you. And while we appreciate what you've done, you don't need to go around bragging about it like you've won over us."

"Oh, but I have won," said Sycamore. "Not just over you, but over…my past experiences. And think about it Sitch, you and I know as well as anyone that there are people in the S-class you watch more closely than others. And you're worried what will happen once the HA's oversight disappears. Heh heh. You sure didn't worry about the lower class heroes, that's for certain! Now that they're out of the picture to do what they want, I wonder how they'll react to the S-class or A-class doing the same thing…"

"Enough!" said Sitch. "Sycamore, this meeting doesn't concern you-"

"He has a point," said Accel.

"What?" asked Sitch.

"There are heroes that we both don't trust," said Accel. "We will need some kind of oversight."

"And how will you do that?" asked Sycamore. "You hear that, Bofoi, Drive Knight, Puri Puri, Sweet Mask? They don't trust you! They will try to run you down!"

"It's not like that!" said Sitch. "We just-"

"They don't even trust Tatsumaki, the most effective hero!" yelled Sycamore. His eyes gleamed with glee, and he bent over the table as thin streams of saliva ran from the corners of his mouth. "They threatened to make her a threat, twice!"

 _How the hell does he know about that?_ asked Sitch.

 _If you could hear me, they're called mind searches, my dear Sitch,_ thought Sycamore.

 _How did he find out?_ thought Tatsumaki. _What else is this guy capable of?_

Murmurs amongst the crowd. Dr. Bofoi leaned back in his chair while Genos squinted at Sycamore.

 _I should take more notes for master,_ thought Genos. _Perhaps he would be interested in a being so strong…_

"She is destructive…" said Darkshine.

Tatsumaki glared up at him.

"But she doesn't deserve to be made a threat!" said Darkshine.

Sycamore laughed.

"I can see none of you really have your shit together," said Sycamore. "I'll leave you two groups to fall apart now…I'll be seeing you heroes-"

"Wait," came a stern voice from the back of the room.

Everyone turned around save from Dr. Bofoi, who squinted at his screen in confusion.

From the back of the room strode a tall figure, his arms crossed over his chest. Streaks of grey ran through his ruffled black hair, a serious expression on his chiseled face. Wrinkles crossed his forehead like ancient scars, each one deep and unending gashes across the man's face. He kept his arms over a red jumpsuit with white flames down the center, a black cape flowing behind him.

Tatsumaki gasped in her seat. She bolted upright to get a better look, her heart pounding as suddenly her frame felt tiny against the man standing up above. Sycamore laughed.

"The most useless hero of them all arrives!" said Sycamore.

"Blast," whispered Tatsumaki.


	9. Chapter 9

"Blast?" asked Sitch. He jumped up from his seat just as nearly every person in the room had their eyes widen from pure shock. "I…I didn't expect you here, why-"

"I said I would come if there was a God-level threat, correct?" asked Blast.

"Well, yes, but-" said Sitch.

Blast pointed one large, gloved finger over at Sycamore.

"There he is," said Blast.

"Sycamore?" asked Sitch.

"Yes," said Blast. His voice was grave, heavier than a mountain. Every step he took had purpose, and he neared the table of shocked S-class heroes as Tatsumaki took a step back.

"Blast," she said.

"Sycamore is a God-level threat," said Blast. "Just not in the way I thought it would be."

"Oh do enlighten me," said Sycamore. "Although I think I already know what you are going to say."

"I left, so that humankind could save itself in its greatest time of need," said Blast. "I was only to intervene in the most dire of circumstances. And yet here we are, our destroyer masquerading as our savior."

"Oh, it won't be _my_ fault if the human race destroys itself," said Sycamore. "Not my fault you had such twisted views on heroism."

"And you don't, hmm," said Blast. "Calling most of them ineffective."

"Where I come from, they _are_ ineffective," said Sycamore.

"Perhaps you are making flawed comparisons then," said Blast.

"Tell that to your ranking system," snarled Sycamore. "Everyone knows who's effective and who isn't."

Blast chuckled, a deep and vicious sound which echoed throughout the room. Tatsumaki gripped onto the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white from the strain. It was all too much, Sycamore at one end of the table and Blast at the other. She almost wanted to run, but knew it would not help in the end.

"Yes…" said Blast. "Though your standards are high…"

"Not too high, I just think you actually have to save people to be a hero," said Sycamore. "All the people you let die, well, they speak for themselves. And I think if they were still here, they would ask why the almighty Blast didn't come down from his retirement home to come help them."

Blast's chuckles ended. His face twisted into one of anger.

"Humankind cannot rely on a savior," said Blast.

"Maybe, but they shouldn't be left in the cold either," said Sycamore. "Thankfully, I am the best of both worlds! I will save humankind, and let them decide their fate! As opposed to just watching them die from forces beyond their control…"

"I don't believe that," said Blast. "You'll stand idly by for sure…"

"It'll be their fault," snarled Sycamore. Bits of spittle flung from his mouth onto the table. "Do not question me."

"I am here to do more than question," said Blast. "I am here to stop."

"Well just like usual," said Sycamore. " _You're too late_."

Sycamore laughed as he turned away from a grimacing Blast and a room full of people so shocked that most found it difficult to speak.

"Have fun with the last days of your groups," said Sycamore. "And do feel free to stick to your own guns so to speak, I'm sure it'll end well if you do."

Sycamore strode out of the hall and back down to the main lobby. He kicked the front door open and walked outside, a light rain falling from above. As he sloshed through the thin puddles of water that covered the ground, he spotted a man with a shotgun slung to his back running up the front steps directly towards him.

"Sycamore!" yelled Secter.

"Oh God, what now?" asked Sycamore. "I'm busy Secter."

"Why the hell were you in my house?!" asked Secter.

 _Oh shit, that was quick,_ thought Sycamore. _And such bad timing._

"Just to get my gun," said Sycamore. "It is mine, after all."

"And why the hell do you need it?" asked Secter. "You don't need it for the monsters, you can use your own strength and powers for that! The only person you would need the gun for is me!"

"Look Secter, I enjoyed our talks, but overall, we're still quite different," said Sycamore. "More than I thought. And I just don't trust you fully yet." Sycamore flipped his hands over as if he were presenting Secter with a bag full of supplies. He withdrew them back to his sides as Secter narrowed his eyes.

"I know we're different," said Secter. "But I still see good in you. Beyond all this selfishness and egotistical crap. You actually feel for people, even if you put them down all the time."

"Ugh," said Sycamore. "Now is not the time for your analytical talks. Get out of my way."

"No," said Secter. "Not until you explain why you broke into my fucking house and seem so set on letting humankind destroy itself. It's made me worry about what you're _really_ planning to do."

"Nothing to worry about, I won't be hurting anyone more than likely," said Sycamore. "But you need to move. I have places to be." His hand twitched near his suit coat. Secter widened his eyes.

"Don't," said Secter. "I don't want to fight."

"I'd prefer to avoid it as well," said Sycamore. "Not a fan of gunfights myself, and I don't especially hate you. But if it comes down to it…"

"Take your hand away from the suit," said Secter. Drifting a shaky hand towards his back, Secter kept his eyes trained on Sycamore.

 _He'll be able to draw that pistol faster than I can draw my shotgun,_ thought Secter. _Don't do this Sycamore, don't do it please…_

"Keep your damned hand away from your back!" yelled Sycamore.

"Then move yours away from your suit!" said Secter.

 _I'd be faster,_ thought Sycamore. _If it comes to that, if it ends up coming to that, if we end up going to that…I'd be faster…the advantage is to me…_

Sycamore's arms twitched as he kept his hand hovering over the bottom of his suit coat. Secter kept his hand behind him, near the body of his shotgun.

"Don't," said Secter. "Don't do it."

"Move," said Sycamore.

Secter sighed and began to shuffle out of the way, his eyes grey as he watched Sycamore. Sycamore watched him as well, fear like an icy bullet through his heart. As he started to make his first step away from Secter, the man began to speak.

"Don't ever go in Tatsu's house again," said Secter.

"I go where I please," muttered Sycamore.

Secter hunched over and scowled at Sycamore. As he moved his shoulders, his shotgun clanged against his back.

Sycamore's chest felt like exploding at the sound of the gun. His hand darted up to the inside of his suit jacket and found the handle of his pistol.

. . .

Tatsumaki watched Blast as he stared down at the entrance where Sycamore had left. Frowning, Blast turned around and began to walk away from the table.

"Hey!" said Tatsumaki. "You can't just leave!"

"I'm done here," said Blast. "I know what I need to do."

"Uh, excuse me Mister Blast," said Sitch. "But what exactly is your plan here? Why did you show up for a meeting of all things?"

"I told you," said Blast, his eyes darting over to Sitch. "Sycamore is a God-level threat. He will try to bring about humanity's downfall by ridding it of its biggest problem, which I cannot abide by."

"I…I don't know how humanity will fall if the monsters are gone," said Sitch. "I mean, the HA and Neo Heroes are close to dismantling, but that's about it…"

"When the time comes, don't go expecting someone to come save you," said Blast.

Tatsumaki gasped at his words, gripping the chair she used to sit in with one hand.

"I…" said Sitch.

"What I mean is," said Blast. He swiveled around to look at Sitch. "That I expected humankind to better itself while I was gone. That the only time I should come in is if a God-level threat came in to destroy the world and humankind wasn't ready. I was hoping that one day, humankind would unite and get strong enough to face a God-level threat on its own without me. And yet, Sycamore is here to ruin this. To have you rely on him to destroy the monsters and in turn leave the heroes to their own devices. I do not like where this is going, humankind will be ill-equipped to deal with anything if they are always relying on a savior."

"But…" said Sitch. "The number of people Sycamore has saved is astounding-"

"That may be so," said Blast. "But he is going to doom our future."

"How?" asked Sitch.

"With the monsters gone, the heroes are left to their own devices…" said Blast. "I suppose we'll see just what you all do in the meantime, as I doubt humanity is prepared to face such things… But that doesn't matter for me, as I am going after the root of the problem."

"Blast!" said Tatsumaki. Her face was burning with anger and her arms shook as she wobbled against the side of the chair. Blast turned to face her, the first time during the meeting.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You…" said Tatsumaki. "Are finally here."

"Yes, it's been a while," said Blast. "You seem to have done well for yourself."

Blast swiveled away from her and began to walk towards the shadows in the back of the room.

"Hey!" yelled Tatsumaki. Anger and confusion burst through her mind like a rocket of pure emotion, with Tatsumaki reeling away from her chair to try and follow Blast up ahead. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"There is little to say," said Blast. "I was only here to warn you, and now, I warn Sycamore."

"Hold up, hold up," said Metal Bat. "What exactly is your plan now? I mean, you don't show up for any monster fights, now all of a sudden a monster who actually fights other monsters shows up and you want to throw down with him?"

"Warn him first," said Blast. "Destroy him if he keeps things up. He is destabilizing the world, and will leave humankind to its own devices if the heroes get too ambitious. And of course humankind will expect him to save them again…I don't think he will."

"Who said anything about doing anything ambitious?" asked Metal Bat. "Any of you start acting up, I'll smack you upside the fuckin head."

"No one is planning anything," said Sitch. "There is no need to worry…"

"Blast," said Tatsumaki. She had caught up to the cape of the fleeing hero, her back to the rest of everyone in the room. "About what you said, and why you were gone-"

"Enough," said Blast. "You know why I was gone. You stepped up just as I had thought. You have done well for yourself getting this far. But you should not rely on Sycamore just as everyone else has."

"No one relied on him!" said Darkshine. "I tried to look out for monsters, but Sycamore had already gotten them all!"

"Upsetting the balance…" said Blast. "I will find Sycamore again, and will warn him only once more. If he continues, I will end him."

"By yourself?" asked Tatsumaki.

"I doubt any of you could stand up to a being like him," said Blast. "You're better off not getting in my way."

Sneers and skeptical looks from the heroes arranged at the table. Dr. Bofoi twiddled his fingers together as he contemplated the situation.

"A long time ago," said Tatsumaki. "You told me the same thing you said earlier."

Blast started to walk forward, away from Tatsumaki. Her fists clenched.

"And it affected me more than you might've thought," said Tatsumaki. "You don't just keep getting to walk away, I want to talk to you for once!"

"There is little to be said," said Blast. "Keep following my advice, for it is the truth."

"No," said Tatsumaki. "There's more to it than that."

Blast turned his head, half of it shrouded in the surrounding darkness.

"This is about Secter, isn't it?" asked Blast.

Tatsumaki's eyes widened.

"You…you know about him?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Of course I do, he was also a potential God-level threat when he first got here," said Blast. "But I know how you got more involved with him over time. Perhaps you two are close now."

"We…" said Tatsumaki.

"I wouldn't rely on him either," said Blast. "Always remember, one day you might just find yourself with no one."

"No," said Tatsumaki. She could feel her eyes getting teary and she blinked away at the sheen of water over her irises. "No, I won't. I won't be alone."

"You can't rely on someone to come save you," said Blast. "Not Secter, not Sycamore, not Saitama. Which is why I'm here, to make things right with that suited fool."

"It's not just someone coming to help," said Tatsumaki. "It's someone to support you, to appreciate you…not that you would know. You only focus on big picture things, ignore anyone who could be a friend."

"Strange that you talk about something like this now," said Blast. "You really have changed…"

He turned away from Tatsumaki and headed towards the back of the room.

"Good luck to you all," said Blast. "Do not expect to see me again."

From somewhere in the darkness, a door slammed shut. Tatsumaki glared into the black void, unsatisfied.

. . .

Tatsumaki headed out of the meeting room as the people within it began to ask questions about what they were to do next. Ignoring the calls from Sitch and a few other heroes for her to come back, she walked towards the entrance, eyes pallid as she stared ahead.

 _I might never get through to that man,_ she thought. _Let alone even see him again. He just doesn't seem to care about anything except for his stupid ideology…maybe I should just let him be with it. Even still…some closure would've been fucking nice._

Tatsumaki braced her arm against the front door, sighing as she did so.

 _But he's wrong,_ thought Tatsumaki. _Totally wrong. I'm not going to lose anyone, especially not Secter. Him and I are going to have a happy life together now, for a really long time-_

Pushing the door open, Tatsumaki took one step outside and froze. Ahead of her, Sycamore stood near the top of the steps to the HA headquarters, his pistol drawn and aiming at Secter. Secter had one hand behind his back, his gun still in place behind him.

"Ah-" said Tatsumaki. Her arms began to shake, the entire world fizzing out into a sheen of grey. A lump formed in her throat, blocking the bile which rocketed out from her stomach. She took another step forward, prompting Sycamore to glance over at her. His eyes were wild, and he let out a tiny gasp as she approached. As soon as Tatsumaki took her third step, Sycamore looked back over at Secter.

Secter had one hand out in front of him, fingers raised to the sky. He kept his eyes trained on Sycamore, his breathing calm but his legs twitching.

"Don't," said Tatsumaki. "Don't, please don't."

"Listen to what she says," said Secter. "Put the gun away."

"Take…take your hand away from your back," said Sycamore. "No one needs to be hurt here."

Secter gave a little nod and dragged his hand away from his gun. Sycamore swallowed as Secter raised both his hands up to chest height.

"Put it away," said Tatsumaki. Her chest felt as if it were trying to crush her own ribcage. "Please don't hurt him, please."

"It's all good now," said Sycamore. His hand crept back to his suit jacket, where he slid the pistol back inside. "Everyone go back to normal."

Secter lowered his hands, his shoulders relaxing as Sycamore started to sidle down the steps. Neither of them would look away from each other.

"Just a simple misunderstanding," said Sycamore. He kept one hand on the handrail at the edge of the staircase as he moved down. "Nothing to worry about here…"

Tatsumaki watched Sycamore go with pure hatred in her eyes. Her teeth clenched together in a painful clamp of enamel.

"Just go home Sycamore," said Secter. "Let's…not have this happen again."

"Yes, let's," said Sycamore. "Back to the hotel…" He turned away from Secter, and with a quick side-glance, ran down the steps back towards the nearest city. Secter glared at him as he went before looking back over at Tatsumaki.

When Sycamore was out of sight, Tatsumaki rushed over to Secter and leapt onto him, wrapping her hands around his back. Secter stumbled back at the sudden impact, but found his footing and embraced her as well.

"Tatsu," said Secter. "You're shaking."

"I was so scared," said Tatsumaki. "We just talked about this, we just talked about this…"

"Talked about what?"

"It…I'll tell you when we get home."

"Ah, alright. Let's…let's go now."

"Yes," said Tatsumaki. She pulled her head away from Secter's chest in order to look up at him. Secter's breath caught in his throat upon seeing the tears flowing from her eyes.

"Let's go home," said Tatsumaki.

"Alright," said Secter, his voice soft. "That…what you saw, it…was a bit of a misunderstanding."

"Don't care," said Tatsumaki. "Hate Sycamore."

"He…has problems," said Secter. "But I don't think he would've fired."

Tatsumaki pulled Secter closer, her tears leaving grey stains on his shirt.

"He seemed even more afraid than I was," said Secter. "I think I can understand why."

"Don't go getting any ideas," said Tatsumaki. "You're going to stay far the fuck away from him."

"Tatsu…"

"No, you listen to _me_ , Secter. I am not losing you. If I did, I wouldn't know what to do with myself." Tatsumaki groaned as she buried her face into Secter's shirt. "You understand?"

"I do," said Secter. "I do."

"I don't want to risk it," said Tatsumaki. "I can't lose you, I love you too much…"

"You won't…I promise you won't…"

"You can say that all you want, but it's not in your control."

"I…" said Secter. He sighed as he rubbed Tatsumaki's back. "I know. But I really don't think Sycamore would try to kill me unless he knew I was going to try as well-"

"Just…no more of him," said Tatsumaki. "I don't want to think about this right now."

"Ok," said Secter. "You want to go home?"

"Yes, please."

"We can sit down and watch a movie or something."

"That sounds nice."

The two of them departed from the Hero Association building, Tatsumaki clinging to Secter's side and giving nearby strangers suspicious looks as they walked. Secter would occasionally give Tatsumaki a concerned glance, but she paid the looks no mind. As they neared Tatsumaki's home, Secter stopped by a flower shop and picked out a bouquet of purple flowers with white tips at the ends of their petals. After presenting it to a smiling Tatsumaki, the duo headed back home. Tatsumaki kissed Secter on the doorstep and they made their way inside, with Secter setting the new bouquet over by the old one.

. . .

Fubuki stared down at the pink pamphlet in her hands as she walked along the street with her group. Crumpling it into a ball, she shoved it into the pocket of her dress and stared forward, her shoulders slouched.

"I can't believe they'd do something like that," said Lily, who was at Fubuki's right-hand side. "Us sure, but you Miss Blizzard?"

"None of us deserved this," said Fubuki. "It's just…I think the HA is losing money. Because of Sycamore." She sighed. "I guess…we'll just have to figure something out in the meantime."

"I still think what they did was wrong," said Lily. "But we're behind you every step of the way Miss Blizzard!"

Fubuki chuckled and smiled back at her group.

"Guys, you can call me Fubuki," she said. "No need to be so formal."

"Alright…Fubuki," said Lily. "And this is…because we're all friends now."

"We've been friends for a while," said Fubuki. "Maybe I just didn't show it too well."

Up ahead, a group of people brushed past Fubuki and her companions, some of whom were carrying news cameras. Fubuki raised an eyebrow at the people moving along.

"Where are all these people coming from?" asked Fubuki.

"I don't know," said Lily. "Some of them have cameras, was there an event?"

Fubuki strode ahead, her group running forward to keep pace. She spotted a makeshift stage in front of a towering hotel a few feet away, and she jolted to a stop when she saw the name emblazoned on the stage in glowing lights.

"Sycamore," said Fubuki. "They're…celebrating Sycamore."

"Well…" said Lily. "He has killed a lot of monsters."

"I know that," said Fubuki. "But I still don't trust him-"

Fubuki gasped when she saw Sycamore emerge at the end of the road, his head pointed down and his hands firmly entrenched in his pockets. She froze in place and had one of her group members bump into her back. Stumbling forward, her eyes widened when she realized Sycamore was looking at her.

"Let's," said Fubuki. "Let's go a different way."

"Wait a second!" said Sycamore. He blasted over to where Fubuki and her group stood, stopping several feet away in a rush of shadowy fire. "I had something to say to you."

Fubuki took a step back. Her head ached, waves of pain pounding throughout her brain.

"To apologize," said Sycamore. "I…know what it's like to be afraid in such a situation."

"Apologize?" asked Fubuki. Members of her group swooped forward in front of Fubuki, forming a protective ring around her.

"Yes," said Sycamore. "You know, for frightening you."

"Ah," said Fubuki.

"You're not gonna hurt her!" said Lily, glaring right up at Sycamore's eyes. "She's our friend, and if you want to get to her, you're going to have to get through us."

"No one is getting hurt today," said Sycamore. "Not Fubuki, not me, not anyone else…"

"Well…" said Fubuki. "Was that all you had to say?"

"Yes yes, that I'm sorry," said Sycamore. "And…perhaps to make it up to you all, you should come see my new penthouse! Yes! It's very high class, much like that coat you're wearing." Sycamore pointed to the white fur coat draped over Fubuki's shoulders.

"Uh, thanks," said Fubuki. "But, I think we'll pass…"

"Ah come on," said Sycamore. "It has a great view. And drinks! Drinks for all! My treat. Lord knows I could use some stress relief right now…"

Fubuki's friends gave her nervous looks as Sycamore shrank his head down to his shoulders.

"Fine, fine," said Sycamore. "I understand why you wouldn't want to come. Even still, my invitation is always open, would be nice to have a few others see I suppose."

 _I…don't fully trust him,_ thought Fubuki. _Although he seems genuinely down about threatening me, and almost…sad that we're not going to see his room? It might not hurt to know more about him, but I don't really want to go…_

Fubuki narrowed her eyes as Sycamore turned to brush past the group to head into the hotel, his arms shaking for whatever reason. Frowning, she looked at the members of her group and then back to Sycamore.

"Wait," said Fubuki.

Sycamore turned back to look at her, surprised.

"We can…look real quick," said Fubuki. "But if you try anything-"

Sycamore placed a hand over his chest, his fingers spreading through silver fabric.

"On my honor I will not," said Sycamore. "I just figured you all would think it's pretty neat."

"Alright," said Fubuki. "Actually…do you guys want to see it?"

Fubuki looked around at her group, frowning. Her friends gave each other uneasy glances.

"I…suppose so, if that's what you want," said Lily. The rest of the group murmured in agreement.

"Alright then I guess it's settled," said Fubuki. "We can look real quick."

"Excellent!" said Sycamore. "Follow me."

Fubuki and her companions shuffled along behind Sycamore as they made their way into the hotel, climbing a set of stairs and packing themselves into an elevator as Sycamore glued himself to the back wall of the contraption. Eyes narrowed at the group assembled before him, Sycamore smiled as the door on the elevator opened and he wormed his way past the group to lead them to his penthouse suite. Fubuki and the rest of her group followed behind, with Fubuki hesitating as Sycamore flung the door to his suite open.

"Come look!" said Sycamore. "Impressive, isn't it?"

The group followed him inside, marveling at the expensive furniture and breathtaking view of the dipping sun. Fubuki stood her ground over by the entrance as her group wandered over to the balcony by the windows. Sycamore turned over to Fubuki and frowned at her.

"You were more of the person I was wanting to talk to," said Sycamore. "Mainly to apologize, but-"

"Why are you showing us this?" asked Fubuki. "Why do you want us to see this?"

"Well," said Sycamore. "What's having an impressive home if no one else gets to see it? Normally, it wouldn't bother me too much, but…I do like sharing what I have become. What I've moved on from."

"The war," said Fubuki. "And your past."

Sycamore gave a small nod. Turning over to the group assembled by the windows, he started to shout.

"There is a cooler filled with drinks by the wall next to you," said Sycamore. "Help yourself."

The group began to stream over to a black cooler that sat against the wall, with one of the members opening it. Drinks were handed out to each member of the group, with Lily receiving a red can containing a dark fizzy beverage. Sycamore sidled over to a couch and gestured for Fubuki to sit to a plushy seat over to the side of him.

"Have a seat," said Sycamore.

Fubuki crept over to the seat at a snail's pace, every step of hers filled with hesitation. Finally she sat down into the seat, gasping at how it supported her and allowed her to lean back into it with ease.

"You want a drink?" asked Sycamore.

"No thanks, I'm good," said Fubuki.

"Alright."

"So…" said Fubuki. "You wanted to show this place off…"

"And you came along. I was a bit surprised that you did."

"Well, I still think you're a bit like Secter in some ways, even if you are…nervous."

Sycamore grumbled as he shrunk into his seat. A frown stretched from one end of his face to the other.

"We are quite different in some ways as it turns out," said Sycamore. "And nervous? I suppose…"

"I initially wanted to know more about you, because it could help me learn more about Secter and his experiences and so I could let you know that people did appreciate what you were doing, even though you seem to talk down to a lot of people…"

Sycamore groaned, leaning back into his seat until it threatened to swallow him.

"Yes yes," said Sycamore. "I know…"

"So I guess…" said Fubuki. "You like this place because it's different than what you had before?"

Sycamore snapped to attention, his frown melting into a smile.

"Yes!" said Sycamore. "This place, it shows how far I've come! I've truly escaped what I used to be in, and now, I live in high-class."

"And yet you had no one to share it with."

"Ehhhh, that's neither here nor there," said Sycamore. His head shrank down to his shoulders again. "Not too worried about that, I didn't come here to make friends."

"Friends are still important though," said Fubuki as she crossed her arms.

"Feh," said Sycamore. "Besides, it's not as if you surround yourself with the best of friends anyways."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, take Saitama for instance. A sociopath."

"He's not a sociopath!"

"Oh come on," said Sycamore. "Emotionally distant, barely cares about people around him being in danger, has let civilians die on his own accord I'm sure…"

"He's distant yes," said Fubuki. "But he still cares. He's not that bad, he's just…detached, probably because of how strong he is."

"Sounds like a borderline sociopath to me."

"He's not!"

"Fine fine, keep telling yourself that."

Fubuki sighed.

"I don't think you're the best person to judge another one's moral character," said Fubuki. "You might be doing the right thing with the monsters, but you keep putting people down and I can tell you don't like humans much."

"Not…really," said Sycamore. "Although…they've grown on me a bit. It's a bit troublesome, considering where they are headed."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, humankind will probably destroy itself once the monsters are gone," said Sycamore.

"What? Why? Why would you want this?"

"I don't want it per se, I just know it's going to happen. And I am seldom wrong."

"You've been wrong before, and you've admitted it," said Fubuki.

"Stop."

"You apologized for threatening me, you knew that was wrong."

"Stop."

"And you said humankind was growing on you, so maybe that can show you that you're wrong to look down on us."

"Ugh," grumbled Sycamore. "Normally I would get angry at such things…but I don't even have the energy. Not to mention…there is no point in getting angry at you."

"See?" asked Fubuki. "Maybe if you just reconsidered things a bit…"

"Why would you care for me to reconsider things," said Sycamore.

"Well, like I said. You seemed like you wanted to help people kind of like Secter did, and I do understand your background somewhat, considering how you probably went through some of the same stuff that Secter did."

"You look up to that man?" asked Sycamore. "Always mentioning him."

"I do," said Fubuki. "I like him quite a bit, he's a great friend to me. And he's made my sister happier than you could ever imagine. Sometimes…I'm a bit envious of what those two have."

"I…envy what he has as well," said Sycamore. "Didn't think that I would feel like that, but he seemed to find something greater…perhaps something greater than even what I found."

Fubuki frowned at Sycamore.

 _He's…self-aware to some extent at least,_ she thought. _He's not a crazy person like the Commandant was. Maybe if I just try to get him to see what he's doing, and get him to not look down upon humanity, then he won't cause any problems for my sis and Secter or for anyone else._

"So…" said Fubuki. "What exactly are you looking for?"

Sycamore raised a hand to his chin.

"I found most of it, I think," said Sycamore. "Of course, many still think I am wrong and I have to prove myself right. Otherwise…I have this suite, I am no longer in the Nothing, and I have made myself into a true hero."

"Yeah, I guess so," said Fubuki. "But on the other hand, you don't really have anybody to talk to or anything."

"Why on earth are you so focused on this?"

"Well…my sis didn't really have anyone to talk to for the longest time, and it really hurt her. Her finding and talking to Secter, helping him out through things and him helping her, it was the best thing that happened to her in a while. Maybe the best thing that's ever happened to her."

"Is that right…" said Sycamore. "Well, I haven't done much to help that relationship."

"What do you mean?" asked Fubuki.

"I uh, I had a bit of a misunderstanding with Secter a little earlier," said Sycamore. "Things got heated, and I'm sure I terrorized Tatsumaki on accident."

"What…what did you do?!" asked Fubuki.

"Thought Secter was going for his gun so I drew mine and pointed it at him," said Sycamore. "Secter didn't have his gun out yet…so I wasn't going to shoot, and I didn't want to shoot. Yet…your sister came out of the nearby building and saw what was going on. She looked like a goddamned ghost."

"Well no shit!" said Fubuki. Her yelling caught the attention of her group, which started to shuffle towards her. Fubuki waved them off and they stopped in their tracks. "She just had a different Soulless nearly kill him!"

"Right, right," said Sycamore. "I…overreacted a bit. Got nervous. I will…probably need to make things right, but not now. Now I'm sure your sister hates my guts."

"And with good reason," said Fubuki. "She…she is _very_ protective of Secter and afraid that someone will hurt him. Maybe a little too much. And then you come along and prove that she still needs to be afraid."

"Ugh…" said Sycamore. "To be so afraid…I see, I see…I understand…" Sycamore stared downwards again, wishing like hell that his world would just stop crumbling if even for a second. It had been happening too much lately, fraying his nerves.

"Well if you understand then maybe you should try to fix things," said Fubuki. "You seem to actually feel guilty about this, which is good, but feeling bad won't be enough."

"I know!" shouted Sycamore. He bolted up from his seat, anger flashing in his eyes. Fubuki didn't move an inch, giving Sycamore a stern look as she crossed her arms tighter over her ribs.

"I know," said Sycamore. "Fucking hell, now I have a stomach ache. This was supposed to relieve stress for me, not add on to it."

"Well, you know what you did wrong," said Fubuki. "Now it's best to own up to it."

"Ugh," said Sycamore. He clutched at his stomach, which roiled and flipped as if it were being roasted on a turning spit. "Why…don't you…focus on…your own problems."

"Like what?"

"Like…I don't know, the fact you seek approval from a sociopath or something?" asked Sycamore. "Ugh…my stomach."

"I…" said Fubuki. "It's not approval you jerk, I just wish he'd open up more."

"Yeah yeah whatever," said Sycamore. "Look, I'm going out for a walk, I don't…want to be in here right now. Help yourself to a drink or something, but I'm leaving."

Sycamore dragged himself away from the couch, one hand still clamped onto his abdomen. Fubuki gave him a sad glance as he went.

"Good luck with being out of the HA," said Sycamore as he leaned against the door to his suite. "Why not join Mumen's group or something, do something more productive."

"Mumen's group," said Fubuki.

"Yeah, they fight criminals or something," said Sycamore. "Might be a good thing for you and your group." His breathing grew labored as he pushed the door aside.

"That…sounds like it could be good," said Fubuki. "I…I guess I'll see you around."

"Yes…I guess so," said Sycamore. He walked out of the suite, leaving Fubuki and her group to stare after him.

. . .

Blast stood out in the middle of a field, the remnants of a few buildings not far behind him. He crossed his arms as he waited for Sycamore to emerge from the maze of buildings, having followed him not long after he had left the hotel. As he tapped his foot within a field of grain, he spotted another person heading out from the ruins to his left. A man whose hair shone silver in the dusk sun emerged from a shadowy alleyway, his eyes two glowing slits until they were revealed as he exited the shadows.

"Garou?" asked Blast.

"Didn't expect to see you here," said Garou as he neared the field. He lowered his arms to his sides, wrinkling his black shirt as he did so. "You're Blast, right?"

"Correct," said Blast. "Now beat it."

"I don't think so," said Garou. "How come you didn't show up after I had transformed? I was a God-level threat after all."

"Maybe in your head," said Blast. "You would never have destroyed the earth."

"I…ugh. That wasn't exactly my plan."

"Doesn't matter now. Now you're different."

"Yes…" said Garou. "Now I hunt monsters, or at least I would, if Sycamore had left any."

"He's gotten rid of many, but not all," said Blast. "Makes me fear for the future of this planet. Humankind must think it is safe."

"Well, what kind of threat is going to hurt it?" asked Garou. "You think Sycamore is going to turn?"

"The world will change into something it wasn't supposed to be," said Blast. "And the heroes will take control. As to what they will do…I don't know."

"Nothing bad on my watch," said Garou. "I'm not letting the big guys push the little ones down."

"You do what you must," said Blast. "Now leave, I have business with Sycamore."

"Oh? You've been following him, like me?"

"Watching him when I can. He can be tricky to follow."

"Tell me about it. Sometimes when I'm chasing him through alleyways or something to get to a monster before he does, Sycamore just disappears. And then the monster is always gone before I get there."

"His traps kill the monsters," said Blast. "I've seen them up in space, simply hovering there."

"You've…seen them up in space," said Garou.

"Yes. They're death traps. Those monsters are not coming back."

"This Sycamore is really strong."

"He is. I hope I can defeat him when the time comes."

"You want to fight him?"

"He will ruin this world if I don't."

"I don't see how getting rid of all the monsters will ruin-"

"That's because," said Sycamore, his body twisting from behind a building and rushing out in a black flood to reveal itself to the two astonished heroes. "Blast does not care about humanity's wellbeing."

Sycamore snarled at the two in front of him, his body swirling back to its original suited form.

"I try to go out for a nice walk and get you idiots along with some of Mumen's gang trying to follow me," said Sycamore. "As if following me will lead to monsters or something."

"I haven't seen any of Mumen's group," said Garou.

"I lost em earlier," said Sycamore. "But now it's just you two."

"I am here to w-" began Blast as he took a step forward.

"Yeah yeah, warn me to stop killing the monsters," said Sycamore. "Listen Blast, it's not going to happen. So I suggest you stop following me, and reserve yourself a nice spot at the retirement home in the meantime."

Blast clenched his hands into fists.

"I can't help that you're worthless as a hero," said Sycamore. "Everyone knows it. Even Garou must know."

"Hmm?" asked Garou. "What do you mean?"

"Ah come on Garou," said Sycamore. "You're always on about big guys and little guys and fairness and all that. And yet here we have the biggest injustice of them all, a guy who is idolized and put at the top for doing _nothing_. For letting civilians die. You said it yourself Blast, you wanted humankind to be able to save itself. So you might as well not even exist."

Garou turned to Blast, his eyes gleaming.

"Sycamore has a point," said Garou. "You _do_ let people die, and yet you lose no popularity over it."

"That is unimportant," said Blast. "I do not control the popularity I receive."

"Do you think you deserve it?" asked Sycamore. "Do you even think you deserve to be called a hero?"

"I…am," said Blast. "And most of all, I am a failsafe."

"If I were you, I would renounce your position as the number one hero for the HA," said Sycamore. "Give it to Tatsumaki or something, she's done far more than you ever have."

"That's a good idea," said Garou as he rubbed his chin. "Blast really is the epitome of unfairness."

"Told you," said Sycamore. "Now, seeing as you two have your own little quarrel now, and I have a stomach ache, I'd prefer to keep on walking."

"Wait," said Blast. "So you're confirming, that you're not going to stop what you are doing."

"Of course not," said Sycamore. He turned over to Garou. "Garou, Blast seems to get it into his stupid little head that humankind must be left to its own devices to be destroyed by monsters, and that it should be able to help itself unless the threat is so strong that it can easily destroy the planet. What do you think of this?"

Garou squinted over at Blast, who paid him no mind.

"Even now, you ignore me," said Garou. "As if you think we aren't worth your time. As if we're beneath you."

"Truly, a bully for humanity…" said Sycamore. "Or maybe an absent guardian, who knows."

"In either case, not much of a hero," said Garou.

"You would be wise not to give me lessons on being a hero, Garou," said Blast, still staring at Sycamore. The Soulless grinned at Blast.

"I might be just starting out," said Garou. "But I've already done just as much as you have if not more."

"Especially if you mean recently," said Sycamore. "Honestly, had I left some monsters for you Garou, you would have the efficiency and the heroic ideals to destroy them and join the ranks of the true heroes. Tatsumaki, Metal Bat, Darkshine, Bang…"

"Ugh, the old geezer," said Garou. "But I get what you mean. People who actually work to protect. Unlike what we have here."

"Exactly," said Sycamore. His grin spread wider as the pain in his stomach faded away.

"Enough of this," said Blast. "My status as a hero is not what is at stake here. Instead-" He began to float over the top of the surrounding wheat, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What is at stake is the status of the human race," said Blast. "And if you will not stop your boundless monster hunting, then I will have to destroy you." He glared down at Sycamore, who smirked at the flying hero.

"You want to destroy him…" said Garou. He raised his arms up and flattened his palms sideways against the wind. Dragging a foot back, he tensed his leg and back muscles as a predator would before the killing pounce. "For your own selfish ideology."

"Stay out of this Garou," said Blast. "Or you will be beaten back."

"No need to get involved Garou," said Sycamore. "But I appreciate your motivation."

Blast narrowed his eyes and a beam of burning red darted out from his corneas towards Sycamore. The stream of scarlet energy singed away the wheat below and caused the air itself to swirl from the sudden heat. As the laser approached Sycamore, he smiled as the buildings near him started to melt despite being tens of feet away from the bolt of energy.

Sycamore raised one hand and swatted the beam into the sky, laughing as the stream of red was sent cascading to the heavens above. Blast frowned as the last of his beam vanished out of sight.

"A good ol college try," said Sycamore. "But now it's my turn."

Sycamore snapped his fingers. Upon hearing the sound, Blast was flung into a building, dust and chunks of rubble exploding from the violent impact as Blast was involuntarily torn through desks and old office equipment long since abandoned. He emerged out from the other side and kept flying until he smacked into a wall, his body shaking for a brief moment before falling to the concrete below. Sycamore cocked his head to the side and Blast's body began to levitate, the man grunting as he was tossed from wall to wall, again and again like a supersonic pendulum. After Blast had been thrown enough times to have completely demolished the buildings in front of and behind him, he fell to the ground again, Sycamore nodding in satisfaction.

"Heh," said Sycamore. "Guess that takes care of him for now."

Garou gawked at the crumpled Blast who lay upon the sidewalk, before returning to his normal stance when he saw Blast begin to move.

"You…" said Garou over his back to Sycamore. "Are quite strong."

"You couldn't tell that already?" asked Sycamore. "Blast won't be causing me any trouble, I can tell you that."

"What…else do you have planned?" asked Garou. "You aren't going to try and hurt anyone, right?"

"I don't plan to," said Sycamore. "Unless they are a monster. There's still some remnants to clean up, and still some HA left. When both are dismantled, my plan is essentially complete. Then I leave the rest to you, oh dear heroes."

Chuckling, Sycamore swung himself away from Garou and headed back into the alley from whence he came, his voice echoing throughout the ruined city as he moved along. Garou frowned before turning back to Blast, who had managed to rise from his spot on the concrete.

"Well," said Garou. "Now what are you going to do?"

"I," snarled Blast. "Was hoping I wouldn't have to do this. But that Sycamore…is strong. I was…powerless to stop that attack."

"Do what?" asked Garou. "What are you planning? I know you won't be destroying Sycamore, what you're going to do is renounce your title and fuck right of-"

"Gather my own group," said Blast. A stream of blood trickled down the side of his face, warm and thin. "Defeat Sycamore one way or another. And you stay out of my way Garou, or I will _end_ you. I will have nothing stand in my way."

Garou took a step back. He readied himself into a fighter stance.

"Then take your best shot, _hero_ ," said Garou. "Not the protector of mankind people make you out to be, are you?"

Blast spat a gob of blood at Garou, which splattered over Garou's shoe.

 _Oh it's on,_ thought Garou. _Sycamore is right, this man shouldn't get the treatment the HA and other people give him. It's about time they realize just how useless he really is._

Before he could make the first strike, Blast rocketed off into the air, leaving a shockwave so strong it sent Garou flying back into the field. He tumbled through the dirt, finally managing to dig his fingers into the earth and catch himself, hair and eyes wild. Garou turned and glared up at Blast as he turned into a dot on the horizon.

 _Well, maybe not then,_ thought Garou. _But he wants to make his own group eh? Perhaps…perhaps I can try to fight this. But…who would follow someone like me, after all I've done? No…I would have to join an already existing group. Maybe there'd be one like it somewhere…_

Garou stroked his chin as he contemplated.

 _That's it!_ he thought. _I know!_

He darted into the maze-like ruins of the city, making his way down several streets and past a few shocked construction workers.

 _Mumen,_ thought Garou.

. . .

"So how was the meeting?" asked Secter as he scooped a heap of noodles out from the steaming pot which sat before him and set them onto a nearby plate. He grabbed a metal spoon and dug out a serving of red paste to dump on the noodles. After decorating the sauce with a handful of meatballs and some cheese, Secter repeated the process with another plate and brought the two of them over to where Tatsumaki was sitting. Taking a seat across from her, he slid her a plate of food before he began chowing down on his own. Secter frowned as he looked up from his first bite of his meal over at Tatsumaki, whose eyes were distant.

"Tatsu," said Secter as he swallowed down his food. "You hear me?"

"Hmm?" asked Tatsumaki. "Yeah, sorry. Was just thinking about things."

"You ok?" asked Secter.

"I'm fine," said Tatsumaki. "Just got scared today, is all."

"Yeah…yeah I know," said Secter. "But uh, how was the meeting?"

"Blast showed up."

"Wait, what?"

"You know, Blast. I've told you about him before."

"Right, the guy who saved you from the lab…and gave you the terrible advice."

"He was the one who helped inspire me to be…how I was," said Tatsumaki. She lifted her fork and picked at the food in front of her, watching as meatballs cascaded down from the top of her noodle pile and onto the side of the plate. "He inspired me to be a hero too."

"He…did," said Secter. "But gave you a poisonous way of looking at things."

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. "And he basically tried to ignore me while I was there."

"Why was he there in the first place?"

"Something about Sycamore being a God-level threat, and how he wants to stop him," said Tatsumaki. "I don't know, I was all caught up between him at one end of the table, and Sycamore at the other, and then Blast ignoring me when I tried to talk…"

"Did he say anything to you?"

"He…he told me that one day I might just find myself with no one."

"What?" asked Secter. "Why the hell would he say that?"

"It had to do with relying on people," said Tatsumaki. "I told him he was wrong, and that moral support mattered too, and that I wasn't going to lose you, but then…"

Secter's eyes widened.

"You went outside," he said. "And saw what you saw."

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. "So excuse me if I say that I don't want you to talk to Sycamore again. Or even go near him. Ever."

"Tatsu-"

Tatsumaki slammed her free fist down on the table, causing the bouquet in the middle of the table to shake.

"I am not losing you," said Tatsumaki. "I can't. I…I'm sorry I'm acting like this Secter, but just the thought makes me want to throw up. You…you have done so much to make me feel happy, to make me feel loved, to make me feel like I'm your favorite person in all the world-"

"Well, you are," said Secter.

Tatsumaki gave a weak smile.

"I know," she said. "And you're mine. I can't lose you, I love you more than anything. You're the best thing to ever happen to me, and if someone were to take that away…"

Secter rose from his seat, with Tatsumaki following suit. He walked around the table to where she stood and hugged her, Tatsumaki squeezing him tight.

"Like I said," said Secter. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying with you, no matter what. Neither of us are going to lose either one, trust me, if I lost you-"

The thought of it forced tears through Secter's eyes.

"Fuck," said Secter. "If I lost you…"

"We'll be ok," said Tatsumaki. "I was just so afraid."

"You…you are really afraid," said Secter. "A little too much for my liking."

"Well, can you blame me? I've nearly lost you probably twice at the least, could've lost you again today. I've never had anyone like you, and I doubt I would ever find anyone like you again if you were gone. Not that I'd ever recover anyways."

"Can…can we not talk about this?" asked Secter. "This is making my chest hurt."

"Fine," said Tatsumaki. "But only if you promise never to visit Sycamore again."

"Tatsu-"

"Promise."

"He's just afraid, is all. If I can get through to him-"

"Promise!"

Secter sighed and separated himself from Tatsumaki. She gave him a teary glare as he stood at the edge of the table.

"No," said Secter. "No, I won't promise that. I told myself I wasn't going to lie to you again, Tatsu, and this is the truth. I do want to talk to Sycamore again, I think it will really-"

"Of course you want to talk to him again, you never listen," said Tatsumaki. "Fucking jerk."

Secter's hands clenched into fists as Tatsumaki looked away from him. Scrunching his face in anger, he turned to where his food was, picked up the plate, and left the table. As he headed towards the bedroom, he looked over at Tatsumaki again, who was staring down at her own plate.

"I'm going to let you think about all this for a bit," said Secter. "When you've calmed down, I'll be in the bedroom."

He headed down the hall and made his way into the bedroom, where he plopped down on the bed and ate his meal in silence. Each forkful of his was carefully lifted to his mouth in order to avoid spilling food onto the bed below, and when he finished, he washed his plate out in the bedroom sink and set it down on the nightstand beside his area of the bed. Sitting down on the bed, Secter wrapped himself up in a blanket and waited. An hour passed, the room turning dark as the sun disappeared from the horizon. Then, Secter heard a plate crash into the kitchen sink and he winced. Then there was silence. For a moment, Secter could hear something from the kitchen beyond the bedroom wall and he strained to listen. It grew louder and Secter could make out the sound of crying from the other room. His heart plummeted to his stomach and his spine went cold.

 _Fuck, this is all my fault,_ thought Secter. _I should go in there and apologize, I didn't think enough-_

As he turned to lift himself out of bed, he spotted Tatsumaki enter the doorway. She headed over to the side of the bed and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his chest as she collided with his blanket. Secter was pushed back against the headboard and he tore the blanket over Tatsumaki as she sidled up to him.

"I'm sorry," said Tatsumaki. "I'm sorry Secter, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry. You're not a jerk, I'm sorry." Tears flowed from her eyes as she spoke, a pitiful glance piercing straight through Secter's soul.

"It's…it's ok," said Secter. "I'm sorry too."

"For what?" asked Tatsumaki. "You…you were just trying to be honest."

"I didn't take into account how much you were feeling enough," said Secter. "I didn't think…how much this would all scare you. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I was just gonna run off tomorrow to go say hello to Sycamore."

"I didn't think that," said Tatsumaki. "But you're right…I am afraid. Maybe…maybe too much, but you have to remember that I've nearly lost you before."

"I know, I know." Secter pulled Tatsumaki in close and kissed her on the forehead. "I've nearly lost you too, I know how scary it is."

"So…" said Tatsumaki. "Are you still going to try and talk to him?"

"I…it can wait. It's just…I really don't think Sycamore was going to shoot. The only reason he drew his gun was because he feared for his own life-"

"Wait, how did he even have his gun?" asked Tatsumaki. "Did he steal it from us?"

"Yeah, that's why I was confronting him," said Secter. "He broke in here to take it."

"And you still want to talk to him."

"Trust me, he's an asshole, but you've seen how guilty he looked about Mumen and Fubuki. How he acted friendly, or at least friendlier to Saitama. I'd prefer him change and become more of a friend then stay alone in his thinking and possibly become a threat. But…I know what you saw traumatized you, and I really don't want you to be afraid…"

"I wasn't respecting your choice," said Tatsumaki. "I was trying to control you."

"You were hoping it was for the better though," said Secter. "For the better of me."

"For both of us," said Tatsumaki. "I'm…I'm sorry Secter, it just scares me so much." She sniffed and laid her head against Secter's collarbone.

"Yeah," said Secter. "I know. I…will try to figure something out I guess. If I do end up needing to talk to Sycamore, maybe you'll want to come with."

"I still don't want you to talk to him…but I…I understand where you're coming from."

"I don't think he'll hurt anyone. But I do want to make sure that this will never be the case."

"It doesn't have to be your responsibility. You don't need to take the fall for this."

"Maybe…maybe you're right. But I don't know if anyone could stop him if Sycamore went berserk or something."

"Blast is going to try."

"Blast is an asshole, and I don't think he could win," said Secter. "Can't believe he just ignored you."

"I guess I don't know what I was expecting," said Tatsumaki. "He was always distant…wrapped up in his own ideals."

"Hmm."

The two of them held each other for a time, both of them sniffling as tears flowed from their eyes.

"I'm still really sorry Tatsu," said Secter. "I don't want to frighten you, and I shouldn't have left you alone back there."

"It's ok, we were both angry," said Tatsumaki. "And I'm sorry for disrespecting you."

Secter sighed and pulled Tatsumaki closer. He smiled when he felt her kiss him on the neck.

"I can't stay mad at you," said Secter. "Honestly, I was getting mad at myself when I heard you crying in the kitchen-"

"There's no need for you to get mad at yourself," said Tatsumaki. "We both messed up. We both acted out of line. And I want to fix it, I don't want this to be a problem."

"Me neither," said Secter. "Let's…let's talk about what we'll do in the morning, ok? I just want to have a nice night with you now, settle down and all."

"That sounds nice," said Tatsumaki. "God, I hope everything goes ok with Sycamore."

"I hope so too."

. . .

Tatsumaki awoke to the sound of her phone buzzing on the nightstand. Grumbling, she pulled it over to her ear and answered, her voice quiet so as not to wake Secter who slept beside her with an arm over her chest.

"Hello?" asked Tatsumaki. "Sis?"

"Hey," said Fubuki. "I didn't wake you did I?"

"It's fine," said Tatsumaki. "I was about to get up anyways."

"Ah, alright then. Soooo, did you have any plans for today? Did you want to hang out?"

"That's fine, what time?"

"Probably around noon or so, how about Saitama's house?"

"What is it with you and going there?"

"Honestly I don't know, maybe because everyone kinda gravitates towards it."

"I mean, I don't. Secter doesn't either."

"Well you get what I mean. Plus, I liked the night where we all hung out there."

"Yeah, that was nice."

Secter shifted, stretching his arm further down Tatsumaki's chest to where his fingers touched the side of the bed she was laying on. Tatsumaki slid her head further down the covers, making her voice more muffled.

"Also, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," said Fubuki. "I'll talk about it when we meet up."

"What is it?" asked Tatsumaki. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine, but I'll tell you about it later," said Fubuki. "I'll see you around noon then?"

"Fine, fine," said Tatsumaki.

They said their goodbyes and Tatsumaki hung up the phone. Placing it back down near where her display case was, she felt Secter stirring next to her. Turning, she spotted him creaking his eyes open.

"You awake?" she whispered.

"Mmhmm," said Secter.

Tatsumaki let out a little sigh and leaned forward into Secter, her face inches away from his.

"Look," she said. "I know I acted a bit unreasonably last night-"

"No, no, it made plenty of sense for you to be afraid," said Secter. "I just wish you didn't have any reason to be."

"You still want to talk to that guy?"

"I…don't want to do that now. Maybe some other time."

"You want to hang out with my sis and everyone else at Saitama's instead?"

"Yeah that sounds nicer," said Secter. "Was nice to get to hang out with all of em."

"Yeah, yeah it was."

Tatsumaki pushed herself into Secter, kissing him on the lips. Wrapping her hands around the back of his head, Tatsumaki refused to let go of him for over a minute, her fingers crawling through Secter's hair as she kept pushing into him over and over. Secter hugged Tatsumaki close to him, grinning after every short break during the kissing. When they separated, Secter smiled over at Tatsumaki, his cheeks warm.

"Where did that come from?" he asked.

"I just wanted to," said Tatsumaki. "I like to kiss you."

Secter chuckled.

"You do, huh," said Secter.

Tatsumaki kissed Secter on the neck, then up to his cheek, then once on the tip of his nose.

"Well of course I do," said Tatsumaki.

"I love it when you do," said Secter. "I really do."

"I know," said Tatsumaki. "I like to make you feel special."

Secter's face turned red and Tatsumaki smiled at him. Pulling him back over, she kissed every inch of his face, with Secter smiling from ear to ear the entire time.


	10. Chapter 10

Tatsumaki knocked on the door to Saitama's home and jolted back when Saitama thrust the door aside to answer. Secter raised an eyebrow as he stood next to Tatsumaki.

"She's out back," said Saitama, jerking a thumb towards his backyard.

"Oh, thanks," said Tatsumaki. She took a step into Saitama's house as the bald hero moved aside, watching Secter as he entered as well.

"You know, I appreciate you letting her hang out here," said Tatsumaki. "I might not understand why, but she seems to like to go here a lot."

"Yeah, me neither," said Saitama. "But no worries, I don't mind most of the time."

"It was nice to hang out here with everyone," said Secter. "Dunno if you felt the same, but…"

"Yeah, yeah," said Saitama. "Nice to have guests every once in a while. Or every day, if you're Fubuki apparently."

Tatsumaki and Secter made their way past Saitama, who shut the door behind them. Finding their way to the sliding door to the backyard, Tatsumaki pushed it open to see Fubuki standing out on the patio. Fubuki turned to see the duo approach her, with Secter closing the sliding door again.

"Hey sis," said Fubuki. "And hi Secter."

"Hey," said Secter.

"Hi sis," said Tatsumaki. She walked over to Fubuki and wrapped her arms around her, with Fubuki straightening up in surprise. Smiling, Fubuki hugged her sister back for a while, before the two of them separated.

"So," said Tatsumaki. "You said you had something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah," said Fubuki. "Mostly wanted to make sure you were ok, since I heard…about what went down."

"With what?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Sycamore," said Fubuki. "He said things got heated between him and Secter."

Tatsumaki's eyes widened, her hands grasping at the edges of her dress. Secter frowned over at Fubuki.

"How…how did you find out?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Well, I talked to him," said Fubuki. "My group and I were in his suite-"

Fubuki cut herself off when she glimpsed the twisted smile Tatsumaki was giving her. Giving her sister a concerned look, Fubuki raised a hand to try and lay it on Tatsumaki's shoulder, but Tatsumaki turned away and took a couple of steps back towards the sliding door.

"Of course you did," said Tatsumaki. "Of course."

"Sis, it's ok-" said Fubuki.

Secter walked over to Tatsumaki and laid his hands on her shoulders. Rubbing them back and forth, he sighed as Tatsumaki gave him a sad look.

"I'm…I'm fine," said Tatsumaki. Glancing behind her at her sister, Tatsumaki sniffled. "Sorry that I'm acting this way, I'm just…"

"Scared?" asked Fubuki.

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. Sighing, she moved along with Secter over to the edge of the patio and sat down along with Fubuki.

"You actually…talked with Sycamore," said Secter as he looked over at Fubuki. "What did he say?"

"He seemed guilty as usual," said Fubuki. "Excited to show me and my group his new place and even offered drinks. And…apologized for scaring me too."

"He needs to stop threatening the people I love," said Tatsumaki.

"He's afraid I think," said Fubuki. "Personally I think there's good in him, but all the things he went through, all the stuff he experienced, it's warped his thinking."

"No doubt about it," said Secter. "Even still, he can be dangerous if we're not careful."

"He mentioned something about a misunderstanding," said Fubuki. "I'm guessing you had a gun too Secter?"

"Yeah, though I never pulled it on him," said Secter. "Though I was damned close."

"Hmm," said Fubuki. "He might've gotten scared then."

"Yeah…" said Secter. "And to be fair, the first time I met Sycamore I threatened him with my gun. He seems to be pretty afraid of getting hurt or killed, and based on some of the stuff he's told me about what he went through, it would make sense."

"Maybe I should see if he'll talk to me about it," said Fubuki.

Tatsumaki threw her head back and groaned.

"Why," said Tatsumaki. "Why does anyone want to have anything to do with him still?"

"Look sis, I know it's scary, trust me I know, I was terrified to hear that Secter and Sycamore almost fought," said Fubuki, her arms crossed. "But it would be a good idea to keep talking with Sycamore, I really think we can get him to not be so afraid."

"And now it's two versus one," said Tatsumaki. "I guess I just have to sit here and wait, don't I? Wait for one of you two to get hurt."

"Tatsu, you can come with us," said Secter. "We can figure this out together."

"Sycamore actually kinda reminds me of how you used to be sis," said Fubuki.

"What?" asked Tatsumaki. "How?"

"Well, he's overly afraid, has an ego, can be prone to hurting others if he comes under threat," said Fubuki. "Not that you're like that now, but there do seem to be some similarities…"

"I…" grumbled Tatsumaki. "But…ugh. I just…don't like the idea of you guys talking to him all that much still."

Secter flung his arm over Tatsumaki's back and pulled her into him, massaging her right shoulder as Tatsumaki laid her head against his side.

"Yeah, I know," said Secter. "I understand. But maybe…maybe if we can figure this all out, and get through to the guy, we won't have to worry so much anymore."

"I…I guess," said Tatsumaki. "But…can we at least wait to do it for a bit? Like, I don't know, just hang out for a while. I'm still kind of shaken up after what happened."

"Oh we definitely don't have to go right now," said Secter.

"Right," said Fubuki. "Just, at some point we should talk to him. I don't really know what else he has planned in mind, but I get the feeling it's going to upset more people."

"Are people really that angry at him?" asked Secter. "I mean, I guess he put a decent amount out of a job."

"Not sure," said Fubuki. "The citizens seem to love him for the most part, heroes seem more split. I know I'm not the biggest fan of him, but if you guys have taught me anything, it's that one should always get to know someone better before you really judge them."

"Yeah…" said Secter. "Guess you got a point there."

Tatsumaki kept her arms crossed as Fubuki and Secter talked. Her expression remained distant.

"But of course, that can wait for now," said Secter, as if noticing Tatsumaki's gloom. "Let's just hang out and come up with a plan first."

"Alright," said Fubuki. "And a plan?"

"Yeah, we might want to talk to Sycamore as a group as opposed to alone," said Secter. "Especially after what happened."

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki.

Fubuki nodded, her face falling at the sight of her pained sister.

A voice sounded off from behind the group, both Secter and Fubuki turning to see Saitama calling out from the opening to his home.

"Hey Secter!" said Saitama. "Can you come here for a second?"

Secter looked back over at Tatsumaki, who sighed and moved away from him.

"You alright?" asked Secter.

"I'm ok," said Tatsumaki. "Just thinking."

"Well," said Secter. "I'm here whenever you want to talk."

"I know," said Tatsumaki.

Secter got up and walked back towards the house. Saitama watched him as he went before heading back towards his living room and out of view. As Secter reached the sliding glass door, he felt someone grab his arm.

"Wait, one second," said Fubuki.

Secter turned around, surprised to see her. Back towards the edge of the patio sat Tatsumaki, giving them both a confused look.

"I just wanted to say something real quick," said Fubuki.

"Uh, go ahead," said Secter.

"I…really appreciate you being there for my sis," said Fubuki. "I know I've said stuff like this before but…" Fubuki took a deep breath before continuing. "My sis has changed so much in these past months, and you have no idea how glad I am for you helping her out and being there for her."

"Well, honestly she's made me happy just as much if not more than I've made her," said Secter. "But where is this coming from? Not that I'm not glad to hear you're happy for Tatsu and me, but-"

"Well," said Fubuki. "I guess I wanted to talk to you more personally about all this, my sis has looked so confident and happy lately, and I wanted to make sure that you knew you were really appreciated and everything."

Secter smiled, scuffing one of his shoes on the patio below.

"Aww thanks Fubuki," said Secter. "But I love making Tatsu happy, and she makes me happier than I've ever been."

"I know," said Fubuki. "And now you're basically like a brother to me."

"Really?" asked Secter. "I know we've only hung out from time to time, but-"

"Ah come on," said Fubuki. "You've done everything you can to make my sister happy, and are one of the kindest people I know. You've helped my relationship with my sis, and I know you want me to be as happy as I can be too. You're perfect for my sis, and you're basically already like family to me."

Secter smiled from ear to ear, his face reddening.

"Aw thanks," said Secter. "I guess you kinda are like a sister to me." Turning back over to Tatsumaki, his smile grew smaller as he noticed her looking away from them. "And Tatsu's the one I want to be with, just saddens me that she probably feels so alone right now…"

"Yeah…" said Fubuki, glancing over at her sister. "I hate to have her be so afraid, and I hate to have to do something like this to her, but I really think talking to Sycamore will help."

"Without a doubt," said Secter. "But let's take it slow, no need to rush anything as of yet. Don't think Sycamore is really going to hurt anyone without massive provocation and well, that likely won't be an issue."

"He…needs to control his fear," said Fubuki. "Kinda like my sis."

"Yeah, but Tatsu has a lot of reason to be afraid," said Secter. "Christ, Sycamore showed up only like a week after I got out of the hospital, and not long later, he's pointing a gun at me. And considering how Tatsu used to be before all the stuff we went through…I can't imagine what it's like for her to imagine that she might be back in that situation again."

"She's changed now," said Fubuki. "Even if…even if, God forbid, you were gone, she…ugh, I don't want to think about it. I hope she would be able to heal, but I don't want to think about you being gone, and I know it would absolutely destroy sis."

"It's not gonna happen," said Secter. "Not if we talk to Sycamore."

"Hope not," said Fubuki.

Secter looked back over at the sliding door to see Saitama walking back up, one eyebrow raised. Raising a hand at him, Secter turned back to Fubuki.

"Alright, apparently Saitama has something that demands my attention," said Secter.

"Yeah, wonder what it is," said Fubuki. "Probably something that isn't as important as he makes it seem."

"Guess we'll see," said Secter. "But I'll be right back."

"Alright."

Secter sighed and held his arms to his sides, a smile on his face. Fubuki smiled back while giving him a quizzical look.

"What?" she asked.

"A hug," he said. "For my sis."

Fubuki chuckled and walked over to Secter, the two of them embracing for a few moments. After they stepped away, Secter gave Tatsumaki one last look, and beamed when he saw her smiling at the two of them.

"Be back in a sec Tatsu," said Secter. "Saitama wants something."

"Ok," said Tatsumaki.

Fubuki headed towards Tatsumaki while Secter went inside to meet Saitama, who crossed his arms as Secter approached.

"You guys ok out there?" asked Saitama. "You three are always talking it seems."

"Yeah, there's a lot to talk about," said Secter. He ran a hand through his hair, blinking away at the sudden tiredness which threatened to wash over him. "But I think it's going to be fine."

"Alright," said Saitama. "In any case, you're probably wondering why I called you in here."

"You could say that."

"You gotta show me…how to beat King."

"What."

"You put up a fight against King, and even beat him once!" said Saitama. "You have to show me how to do it."

"That…that's what you're concerned about," said Secter. "Honestly I'm not sure what I expected."

"You're the only person I've seen do that. And…well, beating King is kind of a goal of mine."

"Is that right? Well, it's good you still have some things to motivate you."

"Yeah I know," said Saitama. "Plus I should also probably keep an eye on that Sycamore guy, especially considering how he's put me out of a job now."

"Yeah, you're going to have to get a new job now," said Secter. "Though honestly, I should too."

"I know I know," said Saitama. "Don't wanna worry about that right now though, now you show me how to beat King."

"King still ended up beating me," said Secter. "But…I can teach a few tricks."

Saitama clapped his hands together, a smile appearing on his face. Leading Secter to the living room, the two of them collapsed down on the couch while Genos leaned over the back of the furniture, notepad in hand. Secter began his lesson as Saitama handed him a controller and started up the game. Pointing out each of the different combinations of attacks and the best times to use them, Secter nodded in approval as Saitama mirrored the attacks on the screen on an idle character whom Secter controlled. But when Secter counterattacked, Saitama's character took a beating as Saitama fumbled the controls and hit the wrong buttons.

"Fuck!" said Saitama. "That's bullshit, I hit the B button!"

"You tend to lose your cool a bit once things go wrong," said Secter. "Almost like you expect to win from the start…"

"Yeah yeah, I just gotta keep my cool," said Saitama.

"Master," said Genos.

Secter flinched at the voice and looked up. He rolled his eyes when he saw Genos there.

"According to my analyzations, you should be able to beat Secter in at least one hundred and ninety-eight tries," said Genos. "If you stick the controls he taught you."

"That's great Genos," said Saitama. "Now let's go again."

"Well," said Secter. "At least Genos is trying to help."

For the next thirty minutes, Saitama tried over and over to use the combos Secter showed him at the perfect times, but found himself thrashing his controller on the ground after he was defeated by Secter for the fifth time. Grumbling to himself, Saitama picked his controller back up as Genos took notes above his shiny head.

"Again," said Saitama. "Think I'm getting the hang of this."

"You sure?" asked Secter. "Looks like you need a bit of a break."

"Nah it's fine," said Saitama.

"Well I have to get a drink anyways," said Secter. "Maybe see if Genos got any good notes in there, considering how he was watching your hands the whole time."

"Yeah, alright, alright," said Saitama. "What do you have for me Genos."

Secter rose from his seat as Genos and Saitama conversed, making his way to the kitchen. As he made it there, the doorbell rang. Secter raised an eyebrow as he spotted Saitama get up from his seat and head behind a nearby wall to walk over to the entrance, which was out of sight from behind the kitchen wall. Turning away from the sound, Secter pulled open a nearby cupboard and fetched a tall glass. Plunging it under some cold water, Secter narrowed his eyes as he heard a deep voice sounding off from the entrance. Secter left the kitchen and returned to the living room, setting his glass down on the table as Genos sat nearby. Setting himself back on the couch, Secter turned to see Saitama and a tall stranger with black hair enter the room.

"Uh, who is that?" asked Secter.

"Oh, this guy?" asked Saitama. He pointed a finger to the man beside him. "Apparently this is Blast."

. . .

"Man, it's weird to think that this could be our last patrol for the HA," said Darkshine as he walked down the street.

"Yeah, can't believe I'm havin to look at jobs now," said Metal Bat. "Like, actual jobs! What am I, some kind of regular schmook?"

"I mean, you're old enough," said Darkshine. "And who knows, maybe you can join Mumen's group or something."

"Ah, maybe," said Metal Bat. "Hear a lot of their members don't like S-class joining up though, since we'll trivialize the job or somethin. Guess I'll just figure out something to do."

"Well, good luck with that-" said Darkshine. He froze in place as he felt his phone go off, his hulking form creating a giant blockade to which Metal Bat almost ran into.

"Hey, what are you stopping for?" asked Metal Bat. "Almost ran into you-"

"Monster alert!" yelled Darkshine. "It's only a tiger, but apparently Sycamore hasn't been spotted around there yet!"

"Thank God for Metal Knight!" said Metal Bat. "Which way are we headed?"

"Directly north of here," said Darkshine.

"Then let's go!" said Metal Bat.

The two of the ran forward, with Darkshine staring at his phone as he went. They came to a city block surrounded by concrete apartment buildings, each one layered with darkened rectangles for windows. Metal Bat surveyed the area and saw there were no citizens in sight.

"Well, where the hell is it?" asked Metal Bat. "It's around here, right?"

"It should be, that's what Bofoi's tracker says-" said Darkshine.

A rustling noise from a nearby alleyway made Darkshine pull his fists up and Metal Bat rip his baseball bat out from behind his back. Both glared at the direction the noise came from.

"Come on out!" yelled Darkshine. "Or else you'll face the-"

Out from the alleyway stepped Atomic Samurai, his expression heavy with irritation as he chewed on a string of grain.

"Don't tell me you found it first," said Atomic Samurai. "Been itching for a monster fight, it's been over a week."

"You and me both," said Metal Bat. "You get the alert too?"

"I did," said Atomic Samurai. Turning to a spot across the street, he frowned. "And I guess we're not the only ones."

Darkshine and Metal Bat followed Atomic Samurai's gaze to see several other heroes spill into the street. Sweet Mask, Drive Knight, Puri Puri Prisoner, and Flashy Flash all strode out into the area, their eyes scanning for any sign of the monster. They all stopped in front of a tall, cylindrical shaped building which stretched for almost a mile in the sky.

"None of you have seen it?" asked Darkshine.

Collective head shaking.

"Well this is just sad," said Atomic Samurai. "Look at all of us, wandering like wolves all over one monster. Who the hell would've thought the world would've come to this so fast."

"Maybe it was the defeat of the Monster Association," said Sweet Mask. "Maybe the monsters were already weak, and then Sycamore finished them off."

"Could be," said Atomic Samurai. "Needless to say, getting a little tired of this nonsense."

"We might have to get used to it," said Darkshine, two slabs of muscle covering his chest. "If this keeps up, we might have to focus on something different."

"Well, I have my own things to attend to," said Sweet Mask. "So odd to think, that of all people to rid the world of the monster menace, it would be an…alien? He is an alien right?"

"He's a menace himself," said Atomic Samurai. "Now we have heroes all over the place with nothing to do. Bet they'll turn to crime, a bunch of them."

"Ah come on, have some faith," said Darkshine. "Lot of heroes really are heroic-"

"And a lot are just in it for the glory or pay," said Flashy Flash. "We might see a rise in human criminals. That will probably be my next focus, I took care of some criminals just the other day, and saw no sign of Sycamore."

"Ah, but that's boring though," said Metal Bat. "I want something more exciting."

"We've had powerful human criminals before," said Darkshine. "There was that Garou guy."

"Pssht, took him on easy," said Metal Bat. "Plus, guys like him are once in a blue moon."

"Maybe it's for the best we don't have monsters like that," said Sweet Mask. "What a world to think about…"

"Let's stay on task," said Drive Knight, his red eye dancing back in forth in his mask. "Where is the monster."

"It's up there," said Sycamore.

All of the heroes turned to see Sycamore leaning against the base of the cylindrical building, his eyes distant and his shoulders slouched.

"How the hell…" said Flashy Flash.

"Look on up," said Sycamore. He pointed to the top of the building, to which the group of heroes looked.

At the top of the building was an antenna, jutting several meters into the air and adorned with a single glowing red light at the top. The light pulsated, its glow dimmed by the splotches of crimson that surrounded its sides. All along the antenna were the remains of a large caterpillar-like creature, its husk penetrated by the lightpole and its skin already turning brown from decay. Dull green goo slithered out from the sides of the corpse.

"You…got that one too," said Metal Bat, his teeth grinding at the sight of the creature.

"Of course," said Sycamore. "Killed that one long before any of you got here."

"No traps this time eh," said Atomic Samurai.

"Nah, felt this one should be more symbolic," said Sycamore. "It being the last one, I decided to hang it up as a kind of…victory over monsterkind. Humanity has won, so on and so forth."

"What?" asked Atomic Samurai. "The last one? How the hell do you know?"

"Well, alright, it's not the last," said Sycamore. "What's left of the monsters have buried deep underground, and it would cost more for you people to go get them than it would to just wait for em to come back. You're all better off just saying goodbye to the HA and chasing your own goals."

"You've told us," said Darkshine.

"And I remember you saying I wasn't a hero!" said Puri Puri Prisoner. "Why on earth would you say something like that?"

"It's simple in your case, but speaking more broadly, a hero is a big title to live up to," said Sycamore. "God knows that back where I came from, I saw my fair share of people describe themselves as such and not live up to it. Or maybe they did, but never ended up living at all. Or falling, in a different sense."

"Look pal, we're not here to talk about your history," said Metal Bat. "We're here to kill monsters, and you've gone and taken that away from us."

"You are here to protect the people, and now you don't have to worry about it," said Sycamore. He sighed as he slumped against the front of the building.

"What, no big speech from you this time?" asked Metal Bat.

"No," said Sycamore. "Feel oddly…muddy today. Even though I killed the last monster, and I should be excited about all that's to come, I feel…off."

"That's nice," said Metal Bat. "You proud of yourself, for taking all our jobs away?"

"Yes," said Sycamore. "The world is safe from everything but you people now…and I have no doubt you'll endanger things."

Sycamore shifted from side to side, unsure if he could make himself truly comfortable.

"But of course," said Sycamore. He looked up, his eyes starting to change from dim to gleaming. "You could always join up with Mumen, or even Blast…"

"Blast?" asked Atomic Samurai. "That guy doesn't want our help."

"I just kicked his ass in a fight, he doesn't have a choice," said Sycamore. Chuckling, Sycamore thrust his elbow back into the building behind him. "He seems to think I'm going to be causing problems to the world…no doubt I have changed it, but I imagine it's you people who will be the problems."

"No we won't!" said Metal Bat. "We're going to keep on being heroes!"

"Mmhmm," said Sycamore. "Though I imagine we won't need an S-class for fighting most human criminals, hell, just a few of you would be more than enough for taking on most criminals…imagine if someone like Tatsumaki and Metal Knight were the ones doing the job eh? We wouldn't need people like you for anything but damage control."

Metal Bat and Atomic Samurai snarled at Sycamore. Drive Knight, Flashy Flash, and Sweet Mask showed no reaction.

"But I guess that gives you an idea," said Sycamore. "There are still some opportunities…"

"I'm not helping Blast unless the man comes to me himself," said Atomic Samurai. "Even then…we'd need a reason to fight you."

"Maybe you're afraid of me," said Sycamore. "I am a mysterious being from outside the far reaches of space, who made a mockery out of the strongest monsters and could likely do the same to you if I so chose…but then again, I guess I kind of already did that, didn't I?"

Metal Bat swung his bat over his shoulder, while Flashy Flash and Atomic Samurai grabbed the hilts of their swords.

"Guys, calm down a bit," said Darkshine. "He's just testing us."

"And some of you already failed," said Sycamore. "So much pride for such small people." He chuckled. "Ah, I forgot how much joy I get out of pointing out hypocrisy. Ahhhh, sometimes I forget why I even thought to call some of you heroes at all, when you're so quick to jump to violence over the most trivial things-"

"Like you with Mumen Rider?" asked Darkshine.

"Fluke," snarled Sycamore. "And I apologized at least."

"Wait," said Atomic Samurai. "What was this with Mumen? He's the C-class guy, right?"

"Yeah," said Darkshine. "Heard that Sycamore attacked him not too long ago."

"Well well well," said Metal Bat. "Maybe you're not so heroic after all."

Sycamore sighed.

 _Don't get angry, it only makes them look better,_ thought Sycamore. _Remember what Fubuki had said…something along the lines of opening up, fixing mistakes…_

"Even I make mistakes," grumbled Sycamore. "But at least…at least I'll admit them, even if they are rare."

"Sounds like we'll need to keep an eye on you," said Atomic Samurai.

"As if you could do anything anyways," said Sycamore. "Well, that was a nice chat, I hope you all find yourselves some hobbies because as of today, the monsters are no more."

Sycamore yawned as he sunk into the ground below, the assembled heroes all taking a step back as Sycamore's form stained the ground black around him before vanishing into the earth.

"He…might be telling the truth," said Sweet Mask. "What if that monster up there is really the last we'll see for a while?"

"Then we make do with what we have," said Atomic Samurai. "I'm curious about what Blast wants now."

"Ah screw Blast, he never shows up anyways," said Metal Bat. "Maybe I'll help Mumen out, might as well go after some criminals."

"We'll need to watch this Sycamore," said Drive Knight. "He is unstable, could be a serious threat."

"Yes…" said Darkshine. "If he's been violent before, then maybe he is worth watching more closely. Maybe talk to Dr. Bofoi about this, maybe even see why Blast was so worried in the first place."

"If we're gonna watch or even fight Sycamore," said Atomic Samurai. "And make no mistake, I don't mind wiping his smug grin off the face of this earth, then we're going to need all of the strongest heroes we can get."

"Good luck," said Darkshine. "I don't know how many would be interested in fighting him."

"We'll see," said Atomic Samurai. "I don't trust that Sycamore even a bit, and if he is as powerful as he says, then who's to stop him if he suddenly decides he can do whatever he wants with us."

Silence from the group.

"We need a better plan," said Atomic Samurai. "HA's gonna fall any day now, and then the A and S class will spill out onto the streets. Maybe we should make sure they still have a purpose when they do so."

. . .

Secter opened his mouth at Blast, who gave no sign of a reaction.

"You," said Secter. "You're Blast."

"And you must be Secter," said Blast. "I've heard a thing or two about you."

"Why," asked Secter. "Are you here."

"Initially I came here to talk to Saitama," said Blast. "I didn't realize you would be here."

"And why did you let him in?" asked Secter to Saitama.

Saitama shrugged.

"Eh, said he wanted to talk about Sycamore," said Saitama. "Made a couple of good points, and I let people in here all the time nowadays, so…"

Secter narrowed his eyes at Saitama before turning his attention to Blast.

"So," said Secter. "You're the asshole who hurt Tatsu all those years ago-"

"You know, I considered you to be a potential God-level threat when you first got here," said Blast. "Metal Knight showed me the scans of your fight with Tatsumaki all those months ago, and I had heard you fought that Commandant-"

"Hold on, hold on," said Secter. "You were watching me?"

"You only got my interest after the fight with Tatsumaki, and even then, only in regards as to whether you'd hurt anyone or do something similar to Sycamore," said Blast. "When we saw you went after monsters as opposed to humans, we left you be. Until we heard about the fight with the Commandant, that is."

"And you knew about him too," said Secter. "How-"

"Oh he made himself well-known," said Blast. "I nearly intervened when I had heard of all the heroes he had attacked. But then, last I heard was that you and Tatsumaki went after him in the HA building, and all of a sudden, he disappeared. I assumed you had taken care of him."

"We did," said Secter. "Well, I killed the Commandant. His body won't be there for anyone to analyze either, since Soulless and Volunteer bodies fade after they die."

Blast raised an eyebrow.

"Soulless?" he asked. "Is that what Sycamore is too?"

"Ugh, yes," said Secter. "They're damned powerful too."

"I know," said Blast. "I just fought with Sycamore, and he made a mockery out of me. That's why I am here, to find the strongest people to help me destroy that being. Perhaps you and Saitama would be interested."

"What?" asked Secter. "Why would we kill Sycamore? I mean, he can be a prick, but otherwise he's done nothing but hero work."

"And if he decides to stop doing that?" asked Blast. "To turn on us, to use his power to control the world?"

"Wait a second," said Saitama as he pointed a finger at Blast. "You never said anything about destroying Sycamore, you just said we should contain him or something."

"Yes, yes," said Blast. "Containment is a possibility, but destruction is preferable."

"Master, is Blast bothering you?" asked Genos. "Should I make him leave?"

"Nah," said Saitama. "This dude appears once in a blue moon, honestly kinda curious as to why."

"I want humankind to be able to save itself," said Blast. "I only intervene if there is a God level threat, and even then, only if humankind can't take it. Yet…Sycamore is ruining all of this, creating a safety net for humankind to rely on while a new problem rears its head."

"And what problem is that?" asked Secter.

"The heroes are splitting," said Blast. "Spilling out onto the streets, with no purpose now. No one could stop them from taking power aside from other heroes. There would be war, and I doubt Sycamore would stop it. He seems to take no interest in human delinquents."

"He…is misguided," said Secter. "But I'm not going to destroy him for fuck's sake. He's done nothing but good, even if he has destabilized things in the process."

"Yeah I agree," said Saitama. "He's kind of a jerk, but he's not all bad."

"You two would trust him enough to the point where you won't even try to contain him," said Blast. "You think there is no possibility that he could harm us or isn't harming us."

"He has caused his own damage, but anything else I think he could be talked out of," said Secter. "And I plan to do so, I haven't given up on the guy."

"Huh, you're still gonna talk to him eh?" asked Saitama. "You've got more patience than me."

"Well, if I think people are misunderstood or are acting in certain ways because of things that are hurting them, then I like to try and understand," said Secter. "And change things, especially if I can relate."

"Yeah, that's definitely not a bad thing I guess," said Saitama. "I mean, you did have an impact on the espers' lives for sure, and seeing them change is nice I suppose…"

"Enough," grumbled Blast. He ignored the glare he got from Genos. "You two might be the only other people on this planet capable of standing up to Sycamore, and I will need your help to contain or defeat him. You must join me, or else humankind will be in peril."

"Yeah no, you can fuck off," said Secter. "For one, I'm not attacking Sycamore unless there's a damned good reason to, especially since he gets aggravated when he feels he's under threat. And two, and this is just as important, you hurt Tatsu and warped her way of thinking. Then ignored her when she tried to talk to you about it. So that makes you a massive dick in my eyes."

"To…Tatsu?" asked Saitama. "What did Blast do?"

"That's more personal," said Secter. "But needless to say, Blast helped shape how Tatsu used to be. Afraid, pushing people away, and so on."

"You are far too interested in Tatsumaki," said Blast. "She has done well for herself and can be left alone now."

"You talk about people as if they are barely even there," said Secter. "As if they're some kind of object, or tool-" Secter stopped himself short.

 _Of course,_ he thought.

"She made it to the top of Hero Association," said Blast. "And had the right ideas for many years. Although she seems different now."

"I'd say she's a lot better," said Saitama. "Nicer at least, doesn't try to throw people into walls the first time she gets upset. Though she is still kinda irritable."

"I think she's more irritable with you because she thinks you make her sis feel bad," said Secter.

"For the love of," said Saitama. "What do you people want from me?"

"We just want you to express yourself a bit more," said Secter. "Be more…emotional I guess. And I know we can't just push that, or achieve that in a day, but I think you'd find having people you can call friends is a good th-"

"Enough!" said Blast. "What is with all of you? Constantly getting distracted to talk about personal things, no wonder you've let Sycamore get away with so much."

"Get away with what?" asked Saitama. "All he's done is kill monsters, which is fine in my boo-"

The door to the backyard opened, and Blast and Saitama whipped around to see Fubuki and Tatsumaki enter the room. Tatsumaki halted right next to the sliding glass door and ground her teeth at the sight of Blast, her hands clenching into fists. Fubuki gave the stranger a confused look.

"Sis, that's Blast," said Tatsumaki. "He was the one I was just telling you about."

"Oh," said Fubuki, dark shadows encompassing her face. "Is that right."

Blast scowled at Fubuki, displeased with the people in front of and surrounding him.

"Oh hey Tatsu," said Secter. "This asshole just came by and is talking about killing Sycamore for whatever reason."

"Is that right," said Tatsumaki. "I don't like Sycamore, but I've got no interest in seeing you, Blast."

"Nor I you," said Blast. "I doubt you could measure up to Sycamore anyways."

"Sounds like you couldn't either," said Secter. "Can't say I'm surprised."

Blast swung back around to Secter, his lips pulled back in a vile scowl.

"You know an awful lot about these Soulless," said Blast. "How? How strong are they exactly? How do you know all this?"

Secter stood from his seat, rising to be at eye level with Blast. The two battled in a war of glares, neither one willing to give ground.

"I've been involved with them," said Secter. "That's all you need to know. The Soulless are powerful, too powerful for you or any of the other heroes to handle."

"Except for you it seems," said Blast. "And perhaps Saitama…I was worried Saitama would create the same sorts of problems as Sycamore, but Saitama is just too lazy."

"Huh?" asked Saitama, looking back over at Blast from the television he was staring at beforehand.

"Blast," said Tatsumaki.

Blast sighed and turned over to Tatsumaki, taking a step away from Secter.

"You should apologize to my sis-" said Fubuki.

Tatsumaki held a hand up, causing Fubuki to pause.

"It's alright," said Tatsumaki. "I wouldn't expect him to apologize anyways, he's too set in his ways." She squinted at Blast, crossing her arms over her chest. "But I don't know why you act the way you do. I guess it's partly my fault for never trying to break out of my own way of thinking back when I was the way I was, but you definitely influenced me to be how I was back then. I've learned to move past all that or at least try to, but now I want to know why you act the way you do."

Blast shook his head.

"Again with the personal things," said Blast. "All irrelevant. All that matters is the task at hand, which none of you will help me on."

"No one here is interested in going out and just killing Sycamore," said Secter. "That makes us no better than the monsters."

"No," said Blast. "It makes us prepared. The future can still be saved."

"Not that you would know anything about saving," said Fubuki. "You're never around."

"Alright, that's it," snarled Blast. "You will all just sit here until Sycamore ruins us all! Fine then! I will find a way to beat him myself."

"If Sycamore acts up for whatever reason," said Secter. "Then we will deal with him. If any heroes act up for whatever reason, then we'll deal with that too. Just because the monsters are gone, doesn't mean we're going to stop helping people."

"Looks like you have no one to rely on," said Tatsumaki. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

"I-" said Blast. "This is different. Humankind is what needs saving."

"And yet support would still be great, wouldn't it?" asked Secter. "No wonder you've become so detached, just watching Metal Knight's tapes or whatever you do all day. You've probably forgotten what it's like to know that people will have your back whether they're there with you during a fight or not."

"Yeah," said Saitama. "I mean, people do need to be strong in times of need, and sometimes they'll need to be strong on their own, but seeing you guys-" He gestured to Fubuki and Tatsumaki, then swept his hand over to Secter. "Bolster each other like that probably brings you a lot of strength."

"And I hope you realize that there are people who want to help you too," said Secter to Saitama. Turning back to Blast, he continued. "See Blast? Turns out a support network is important after all."

"You're all worthless," said Blast. "You will help him ruin everything."

Blast rocketed himself up from where he stood, smashing through the roof and streaming into the sky above. Saitama shouted after Blast, the veins on his face growing dark as he shouted about how much fixing the roof would cost. Secter, Fubuki, Genos, and Tatsumaki all watched Blast go with irritation in their eyes.

Looking back over at Tatsumaki, Secter smiled.

"Glad to see you're moving on from him," said Secter. "That guy doesn't have to define you."

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. "He's in his own world too. Somehow I doubt he'll let anyone try and change it."

"God only knows what he's really been up to," said Secter.

"Well, you're right about him being an asshole," said Fubuki, staring up at the hole Blast had made in the ceiling. "But…should we warn Sycamore about Blast?"

"I get the feeling Sycamore already knows," said Secter. "And I doubt Blast will be much of a threat to him. But…I guess it wouldn't hurt."

A blanket of silence enveloped the room. Secter walked back over to Tatsumaki, who grabbed his arm and pulled him over to her. Standing by her side, Secter watched as Saitama strode over to his couch, still fuming over the hole in his roof. He began reviewing the notebook that Genos presented to him.

"Gonna practice a little eh Saitama?" asked Secter.

"Yeah yeah," said Saitama. "Ugh, never gonna beat King at this rate."

"Well, think of it as something to pursue," said Secter. "Something to strive for."

"Yeah yeah," said Saitama. "Good luck with Sycamore, if that's what you guys are doing. Maybe…give me a call if you guys need some help or something."

"No problem," said Secter. "And-" He looked down at Tatsumaki, who returned his gaze with worried eyes. "Is that what we're doing next?"

"We can," said Tatsumaki. "Although I don't know where we'd find him."

"He has a suite over in a hotel," said Fubuki. "If you guys want to go, I can show you the way."

"Alright," said Tatsumaki. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, wrinkles snaking out from the sides of her eyelids. "But maybe Secter should-"

"Get my gun?" asked Secter.

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. She gripped his hand and entwined her fingers within his.

"Alright," said Secter. "Just in case."

. . .

Tatsumaki stumbled to the side as she watched Fubuki approach a tall mahogany door before her. Secter wrapped his hand around Tatsumaki and pulled her into his side, his body warm against hers. Tatsumaki gripped the back of Secter's shirt, feeling it crinkle within her grasp and his shotgun shake in accordance with her hand movements. Fubuki knocked on the door and took a step back.

Tatsumaki's heart pounded in her chest, every thump sounding off from inside her ribs making her wince. It was as if her heart was synchronized to the sounds of footsteps, of something ominous marching up to the other side of the door and out through the depths of her soul. Swallowing, Tatsumaki took a deep breath while Secter rubbed his hand up and down her back.

The door opened. Out peered Sycamore, his head hung to close to the halfway point of the doorway. There were baggy circles under his eyes, somehow even darker than the skin around them. He narrowed his eyes at Fubuki before straightening himself up.

"Ah," said Sycamore. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"You look…tired," said Fubuki. "I uh, brought some guests."

Sycamore twitched his head towards Secter and Tatsumaki. Upon seeing them, Sycamore's head dipped and he grimaced. He refused to look at the handle of the shotgun jutting out from Secter's back.

"I see," said Sycamore. "Well…wish you had notified me of this somehow, but I guess it's a bit late now. Come on in."

Fubuki followed Sycamore as he shuffled his way into the room. Tatsumaki crept into the suite along with Secter, her arm never leaving his side. Fubuki, Tatsumaki, and Secter watched as Sycamore stood near a section of assorted couches, his back turned to them. His suit gleamed in the sunlight that sprayed through the windows. Tatsumaki and Secter sat together on one couch against the wall, while Fubuki sat on a velvet couch right across from them.

"Well," said Sycamore. "I can't say I was expecting this." His stomach rumbled as he spotted Tatsumaki glaring at him.

"Yeah," said Fubuki. "Sorry for the uh, no notice. But we wanted to talk."

"And try to get through this without…resorting to other measures," said Secter. "Like I've said, it seems like your head is in the right place, but you're afraid."

"Yes yes," said Sycamore. "I'd prefer to have it that way as well."

Sighing, Sycamore pulled up a seat across from the twin couches and sunk down into it, the cushion wrinkling as he slid himself towards the back. Sycamore brought both hands up to his mouth and clasped them together, forming a cluster of fingers next to his face.

"And," said Sycamore. "I suppose I owe you two an apology." He set his hands down on his knees while looking at Tatsumaki. "The house thing…well, it was my gun, but-"

"Stay out of my fucking house," said Tatsumaki.

"Yes, yes, it was uncalled for," said Sycamore. "And trust me, I want nothing to do with that place, this gun just has meaning to me. Provides me…security so to speak. Not even against Secter, but just in case I ever ran into any other Volunteers or Soulless, like Secter did."

Secter grimaced.

"And as for the other incident…" said Sycamore. "Fubuki told me how much it scared you, Tatsumaki, and I do apologize for what happened. I acted…a bit out of line."

"I shouldn't have been going for my gun either," said Secter. "Though you should've expected one of us to confront you after you broke into our fuckin house."

"I know," grumbled Sycamore. "And…to some extent, I am glad you are willing to talk. Makes things…less tense."

"I would hope so," said Tatsumaki. "We don't want you to be doing anything else questionable." She crossed her arms, tilting her chin up in her best effort to look down on Sycamore.

Sycamore narrowed his eyes at Tatsumaki. Secter glanced over at Tatsumaki before sighing.

"Look," said Secter. "We just want to…get you further on the right track, I guess. Your comments about letting humankind destroy itself were worrying to me."

"And Blast seem worried about you too, but in a different way," said Fubuki. "I think he's going to try to kill you."

"That little bastard?" asked Sycamore. "Ha! He wouldn't stand a chance. One of the most hypocritical heroes there is, never shows up and yet he's still number one. If it were up to me, I'd say Tatsumaki would get that position."

"Well," said Tatsumaki. "I mean, it would make sense, but it doesn't really matter now."

"True," said Sycamore. "But in any case, I'm not worried about Blast. He can do as he pleases, and he knows he won't be able to stand up to me." Sycamore chuckled and slid a hand into his pocket.

Tatsumaki's shoulders tensed like wire, threatening to snap at any sudden movement. She began to rise from her seat but settled back down when Sycamore took out a slender, black cigarette holder. Fetching a cigarette along with it, Sycamore set it into the holder and burned the end of the cigarette with a flame he formed at the tip of his finger. Smiling, Sycamore slid the holder into his mouth.

"Fancy eh?" said Sycamore. "Got it today. Somehow it's fitting for me."

"It's _very_ fitting for you," said Fubuki.

"Such high-class," said Sycamore.

"High-class huh," said Secter. "Like the place you live in."

"Yes," said Sycamore. "I'm a fan of stuff like this, never had anything like this back in the Nothing."

Tatsumaki shifted in her seat. Sweat beaded the top of her forehead, and the couch beneath her felt like it was made of spines.

"I…hadn't heard much about that," said Tatsumaki. "Though I know it's a horrible place."

"Yes, yes it is," said Sycamore. "Oh! Let me show you something."

He flipped around in his seat and lifted his suit jacket up from the bottom, exposing his torn-up back to Tatsumaki. She grimaced, clenching Secter's back even tighter.

Puffing on his cigarette, Sycamore laid his suit back down over his body and turned over to face his guests.

"Group of em did that to me with a belt sander," said Sycamore. "This was…shortly after the war? They always came in groups, the most cowardly ones. Would pick on people they decided to hate. Or felt reason to hate."

"You…just talk about it," said Tatsumaki. "As if it doesn't bother you."

"Eh," said Sycamore. "Of course it changed me, and I know that." He put a hand to his heart. "And yet, I've moved past it all, I can look back and say, I was right, and they were _wrong._ I know what it is like to be a hero now, I had always had ideas when I saw my own heroes on the field, but now I have risen above and away from those slimy bastards to become my own man."

"Well that's good," said Fubuki. "Still not sure why you are so indifferent to humankind destroying itself though."

"Yeah," said Secter, rubbing his chin as he examined Sycamore.

"Ah," said Sycamore, sinking down into this seat. His smile faded as he rolled the cigarette holder to the other corner of his mouth, the handle clanking against his teeth. "I've grown to…not be as excited on the idea. Yet…" Pulling the cigarette holder out of his mouth, he held the object between two of his fingers as he stared off into the air.

"I suppose it started when I first left the Nothing," said Sycamore. "I already had a plan to become a hero of some kind, to reject all that stupid crap from before and excel on my own. I wanted to get the hell out of there, away from all that constant hate and suffering, to become someone much better… so I looked for places with their own sorts of heroes, and lo and behold, I find this planet. Yet the ideas of heroes and what they should be as opposed to what they were, were so twisted…they reminded me a little of the more twisted ideas from back in the Nothing. Not nearly as bad as it is up there, but it still almost felt insulting to me, to see all these things going on. To have some people be called heroes when they were neither heroic nor effective. To have so many people die due to poor planning by the HA. To have a hero be placed at the top despite not doing jack shit."

Sycamore placed the cigarette holder back in his mouth.

"So I decided to take matters into my own hands," said Sycamore. "And teach both heroes and civilians what the real problems were, and that if they kept relying on their system and ideals as they were now, that they would destroy themselves. Of course, I was still a bit iffy on allowing humankind to destroy itself even then, and am even more so now… Circumstances have changed a bit."

"Good to hear," said Secter. "There's not a chance in hell I'll let that happen."

"I figured as much, but things are already shaping about how I imagined," said Sycamore. A puff of grey smoke flew forth from his mouth. "Sometimes it's tough being so right."

"If you were so right, you wouldn't point a gun at Secter," said Tatsumaki. "He's done nothing to deserve something like that."

"I know, I know," said Sycamore. "And neither do you. Yet…I don't like to be threatened, as you can imagine."

"Being threatened and being told you're wrong are two different things," said Fubuki. "You remind me of how my sis used to be sometimes, she could be just as afraid or egotistical." Noticing the look she got from Tatsumaki, Fubuki added: "But of course, she's different now."

"Hmm," said Sycamore. "I see. Though I'll bet our circumstances were different."

"Look," said Secter. "I can understand being afraid, especially of other Volunteers or Soulless. But you have to start looking past that. We're not here to hurt you, we want to help out."

"I do…appreciate that," said Sycamore. "And it is oddly nice to have guests every once in a while." Rising from his seat, he raised his arms to his sides in a wide gesture meant to encompass the room. "And what point is there to having all this if there is no one to share it with."

 _Not a fan of all these comparisons of me and him,_ thought Tatsumaki. _Though…it does kind of make sense the more I see him. Someone really did hurt him, apparently a group of people or even groups of people, and now he acts afraid and paranoid…ugh, maybe I should try to be at least a bit friendlier…_

"That makes sense," said Tatsumaki. "And the scars on your back by the way…will they ever heal?"

"Don't know, never been injured by a belt sander before," said Sycamore. "They held me down and sanded me like a goddamned table. Was extraordinarily painful, wish I could've blacked out but they knew how to keep people awake for stuff like that."

"Belt…sander," said Tatsumaki.

"Yeah, normally a typical belt sander wouldn't do anything to a Soulless," said Sycamore. "But, if you can't nullify an enemy, they can use their power to technically make almost anything a temporary melee elimination weapon. It's just easier to have an actual one, so you don't have to worry about nullification coming in."

"Ah," said Tatsumaki. "The more I hear about this place, the more I utterly despise it."

"Yeah, there's plenty more stories I have," said Sycamore. "But I don't want to dampen the mood. Not that it is was that great to begin with, but you know what I mean. Stories for a different time. Sure Secter has plenty more like them too."

"I have my fair share," said Secter. "Not all of them bad, but most of them not good either."

"Not surprising for a place like that," said Sycamore. "But in any case, I am glad I could…apologize to the two of you. I do dislike keeping you in fear." He pointed over at Tatsumaki. "You don't seem like a bad person to me."

"And…neither do you," said Tatsumaki. "We just need to work on your…fear, I guess."

"I suppose," said Sycamore. "But I'm learning to…cool it a bit. No need for me to be so riled up, right? This isn't the Nothing, and Secter isn't here to come after me, even if some others are…" Sycamore chuckled, the cigarette holder shaking in-between his black teeth. "But those others I don't worry too much about."

"Still hard for me to believe all this has happened," said Fubuki. "That there might be no more monsters."

"Oh they're mostly gone," said Sycamore. "Only ones left are deep underground. I'll get around to em someday."

Secter sighed.

"You went too fast Sycamore," said Secter. "No wonder the heroes are all anxious."

"As they should be," said Sycamore. "But they alone, by themselves, will determine their own fate…"

"Mmhmm," said Secter. "But it is nice to have the monsters gone for sure."

"Guess we'll have to figure out a plan to keep an eye on Blast now," said Fubuki. "Maybe assemble the group again?"

"Would be nice to hang out with them," said Secter.

"Yeah, but in the meantime, let's go get something to eat," said Tatsumaki. "My stomach is grumbling."

"Alright, alright," said Fubuki. "So long as you don't get drunk again, right sis?"

Tatsumaki's mouth turned into a thin line and her eyes narrowed. Sycamore tried to stifle a little chuckle with his arm, to which everyone could still hear.

"I'm not gonna get drunk again," said Tatsumaki. "At least not at the restaurant. And hey, that reminds me, you still have that video of me?"

"Uhhh," said Fubuki.

Secter chuckled.

"You know she does," said Secter. "She just won't let go of it."

"For the love of-" said Tatsumaki. She shook her head. "You're gonna pay the bill at the next place."

"The video's not even that bad!" said Fubuki. "And I'm not gonna show it to anyone…"

"You trailed off there, why did you trail off," said Tatsumaki.

"Nothing, no reason," said Fubuki. "And fine, I'll pay the bill."

"Sis, I was teasing you, I can pay," said Tatsumaki.

Sycamore watched the three of them talk, a smile stretching across his face. Pulling his cigarette holder out from his mouth, he strode back to his desk and sat down at the chair that accompanied it.

"You have fun you three," said Sycamore. "I, uh, have work to attend to."

Secter glanced over at Sycamore. Fubuki did the same, the sight of Sycamore smiling leaving her curious.

"Well, you have a good night then," said Secter. "We'll be around."

Sycamore nodded.

"You, uh, you too," said Sycamore. He watched as the three of them got up from their seats, Tatsumaki and Fubuki bickering over places to go while Secter suggested that they just go to the nearest café. The conversation turned to a discussion as they exited the room and closed the door behind them. Sycamore sat at his desk, his eyes fixed on the door. Only he remained within the room, the place somehow seeming larger than it normally was, just as inviting but more cavernous and empty. For some reason, his stomach began to roil.

. . .

Blast shrugged the remaining pieces of crumbling wood off of his shoulders as he thrust the doors to the Hero Association's meeting room aside. He received a cascade of confused looks from the assembled heroes and officials, all of whom went silent as Blast approached the long black table which they all sat at. Only Genos gave Blast a different look, one of silent contempt.

"Blast," said Sitch. "Didn't expect to see you here again."

"Neither did I," said Blast. "But I have a matter of the utmost importance."

"So I heard," said Atomic Samurai. "Sycamore told us about your little encounter with him."

"When did you hear this?" asked Blast.

"Yesterday afternoon," said Atomic Samurai. "Heard you were looking to beat him."

"Sycamore bested me in a fight," said Blast. "Albeit a short one. I need to start collecting heroes in order to defeat this menace."

"A fight?" asked Sitch. "Why were you fighting him?"

"It was always my plan to contain or destroy Sycamore," said Blast. "He has to go, if he decides to use his powers to control or destroy humanity, we won't have a way to stop him."

"So you want to make a group huh," said Darkshine.

"I…suppose I have no choice," said Blast. "I don't even know if our combined efforts could defeat Sycamore, but he is a real threat to humanity."

"Well he hasn't troubled anyone as of yet," said Sitch. "Aside from some more minor infractions…but in any case, we should get through the meeting at hand before we do anything else."

Blast glanced around the room, his gaze passing over the tired and irritated expressions of the heroes around him. Many of the officials wouldn't even look him in the eye, most of them with their heads hung low or their hands folded over their legs.

"I see," said Blast. "So this is the end of the organization."

"It is for the time being," said Sitch. "We are downsizing considerably due to lack of funds. We could theoretically restart if Sycamore becomes a threat as you say, since we might get our funding back, or if human criminals turn out to be too much to handle. But for now…we operate as a small organization that mainly provides alerts to former professional heroes in regards to criminal activity or to alert heroes who have gone rogue. Dr. Bofoi has generously decided to leave several of his robots with us in order to allow us to monitor cities even as he turns to his own goals."

"Bofoi will join me," said Blast. "And so should all of you. The criminals are of little importance for now, first we must focus on Sycamore."

"Look man," said Metal Bat. "Guy's a prick, that's for sure. But I don't see much reason to attack him."

"Don't you all see what he's capable of?" asked Blast. "Aren't any of you suspicious of the fact that he took out the monsters with such ease, aren't you worried about what the heroes will do next?"

"Heroes will be our problem," said Atomic Samurai. "And you know what? I'll join your little group, just so I can see what Sycamore is capable of. Going after criminals is a little beneath me anyways, hardly a challenge at all."

Atomic Samurai sighed as he reclined in his seat, the string of grain in his mouth swaying up and down as he chewed on the stem.

"What about any of the rest of you?" asked Atomic Samurai. "I'm not inclined to attacking Sycamore unless I have to, but it might be interesting to see the guy in action."

"Yeah maybe," said Metal Bat. "Would beat a damned job interview."

He laid his head in his folded arms down on the table.

 _Zenko's gonna kill me if I skip that interview,_ thought Metal Bat. _Man, this blows._

"I appreciate your interest, but you must be willing to-" said Blast. He slammed his chiseled jaw shut.

 _Perhaps that is the only way,_ thought Blast. _To get Sycamore riled up, to show these fools just how powerful he really is. Only then will they see reason, and can the earth be righted once again._

"Actually yes," said Blast. "I will take anyone willing to follow me in a confrontation with Sycamore. To get him to…promise that he will not do anything at least."

"That at least sounds fair," said Darkshine. "I don't know the guy well enough to know he won't do anything questionable, he actually seems kinda sleazy to me."

"I would like to see his combat skills," said Drive Knight, his glowing eye shifting from side to side within his visor. "For I agree, hunting down criminals is too menial a job for me."

"Perhaps only if we're observing," said Zombieman. "A last act of the S-class…making sure humanity's savior does not turn out to be something more sinister."

Blast grimaced at the words 'humanity's savior,' his back muscles tensing.

"Yes, a good idea," said Sweet Mask. "Sycamore might be too much of a mystery perhaps…"

"Maybe we haven't done enough to investigate that being," said Zombieman. "Most times I talked to him, he just told me how ineffective a hero I was."

"I have something to add," said Genos, remaining stiff in his seat. Various heroes assembled at the table turned to look at him.

"I have little reason to think Blast can beat Sycamore," said Genos. "He appeared at my master's house yesterday and seemed desperate. He could not bring my master, Secter, or Tatsumaki to his side."

"That is why I am here," said Blast. "Those three are fools, they won't bother to even investigate someone like Sycamore."

"I think they had talked to him…" said Genos.

"If they did, it wasn't enough to dissuade him of his ideals," said Blast. "He's made references to the destruction of humanity, we must confront him at the very least."

"Come to think of it," said Zombieman. "He did mention that with me, claimed humanity would destroy itself."

"Yes!" yelled Blast. "Sycamore is not to be trusted! We must gather up and confront him, now that the monsters are gone, we must make sure he is not aiming to become one himself." He paused as the heroes muttered to themselves. Meanwhile, a television monitor descended from the ceiling at the control of a remote held by Sitch. Sitch slid his phone back into his pocket as the monitor leveled itself to head height next to where Genos sat. Flickering to life, the monitor showed the half-hidden face of the withered Dr. Bofoi.

"Bofoi," said Blast. "I have an opportunity for you regarding Sycamore."

"Is that so," said Bofoi. "I will admit, I am curious as to how this being can do what it can do. Certainly I've had many drones go after Sycamore, but many only get to watch him for a bit before my feedback with them goes dark. A more thorough investigation could be needed."

"You should bring your most capable robot with us," said Blast. "I plan to confront Sycamore soon, make sure that he will not destroy anything with his power."

"Confront?" asked Bofoi.

"Yes, I will gather you all when I have as much support as I can, then we shall ensure that he will harm no one," said Blast. "Do I make myself clear?"

Bofoi gave a small nod. The various heroes assembled at the table exchanged glances. Genos kept his eyes trained on Blast.

"Then who will be with me?" asked Blast. "Who will help ensure that the future is safe?"

"Fine fine," said Atomic Samurai. "Give me a call when you're ready."

"For the future of mankind," said Drive Knight. "One final act."

"Yeah I'll go," said Metal Bat. "Kinda hope he fights."

"I'll go just to make sure he's a solid guy," said Darkshine. Tank Top Master nodded in agreement.

"I will get the robot ready," said Bofoi. "But be warned, if he is deemed not to be a threat, I will not stay for long. I have…other matters to attend to. But if he does fight, and we do defeat him, I wouldn't mind examining the body…somehow I didn't get that opportunity with the last being."

"You all…want to confront him I see," said Sitch. "This…seems like a good idea to me. Yes, a final action by the S-class, that would reflect well on all of your reputations and the HA. It could show the public that we're still there to take care of them, just in case."

"But all Sycamore has done is destroy monsters," said Genos. "The public seems to like him."

"Not all of the public," said Blast. "Such as former heroes. And in any case, the people will smile on us for making sure they will be safe. Despite Sycamore's popularity, few know him as a person all that well."

"So I suppose it's settled," said Sitch. "The HA will do what it can to support this last venture, though I would prefer it not come to a fight…"

"We shall see," said Blast. "It is out of your hands now."

 _I'll find a way to get Sycamore to fight,_ thought Blast. _Pathetic I must speak in this way._

"I have a concert coming up, but if it is to ensure humanity's protection…" said Sweet Mask. "Then we should all go."

"Excellent," said Blast. "I will be in touch. I imagine the confrontation will happen soon, though I will try to gather some more heroes if I can."

He turned away from the table, his cape flowing behind him in a black wave.

"Our last action," said Blast. "Pitiful it all went out this way, in an instant."

"We weren't prepared," said Atomic Samurai. "We couldn't have expected this."

"Yes well, now is the time to become prepared," said Blast. "I will expect no inaction from you all. It is time to be heroes."


	11. Chapter 11

Fubuki draped her silvery fur coat over her shoulders as she walked into the park, sun shining down through a screen of vibrant green leaves up above. Birds chirped as she walked, with the first hints of flowers poking out through the dried grass all around her. Up ahead, an assorted crew of heroes strode around the park, many of them talking or standing around a sizzling grill. A smaller group of them sitting down on a park bench in a small group. Mumen Rider stood next to the group, all of whom turned as Fubuki approached.

"Miss Fubuki!" said Lily. "Hi!"

"Hi Lily," said Fubuki. The sight of Lily and the others' beaming faces made Fubuki's heart swell with joy.

"Come sit with us!" said Lily.

"Alright alright," said Fubuki. She walked over to her group and sat down in between Lily and Eyelashes, both of them shuffling out of the way to make room. Mumen Rider smiled at Fubuki as she settled down.

"Hello Fubuki," said Mumen Rider. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright," said Fubuki. "How have you been?"

"Great!" said Mumen Rider. "Well…the group I've made has hit some roadblocks, but we fight for justice anyways."

"Roadblocks?" asked Fubuki.

"Yeah," said Mumen Rider. "Overall we're doing quite well, but at the moment, there's just too many heroes and not enough criminals to sustain them. I am always glad to accept more people, and your group was a welcome addition, and you'd be welcome if you like, but just keep in mind we might not have a job for you at the moment."

"That's alright," said Fubuki. "I just came to check in on how my friends were doing."

"We're doing great!" said Lily. "Mumen and Accel give us things to do, and we even have community events and barbeques!"

Various other members of the group nodded in agreement.

"That's good to hear," said Fubuki. "I'm glad you're all doing well."

She turned over to Mumen Rider, who rolled his bike over to his side.

"And Accel is involved?" asked Fubuki. "The Neo Heroes?"

"What's left of them anyways," said Mumen Rider. "Accel came to us not long after his group dismantled, and he helped us get set up with job programs and crime fighting squads for our group. He's been real helpful, although he caused a bit of trouble when some A-class and S-class heroes talked about joining."

"Really?" asked Fubuki. "What for?"

"He says there isn't enough work to go around and that now it's the lower class heroes' time to shine," said Mumen Rider. "I'm not sure how I feel about all this…so long as the people are safe and the heroes are doing ok, then I am happy. But I see what he means in regards to work…"

Mumen Rider shook his head.

"We do what we can to support the heroes on such short notice," said Mumen Rider. "But it's tough, a lot of heroes just got cut off from the HA in a matter of weeks since Sycamore showed up. I…don't think Sycamore did anything wrong per se, although I still find it hard to trust him."

"He…has issues," said Fubuki. "And sometimes I don't fully trust him either. But he has his heart in the right place, and genuinely does get guilty over his mistakes even if he doesn't like to admit them."

"Well, I hope he stays in the right place," said Mumen Rider. "I've heard some people talk of him trying to take over the world now with all the popularity and influence he has."

"But…he just kinda sits in his suite now," said Fubuki. "I don't think that he personally is going after anything…but maybe dividing people…" She rested a hand on her chin.

"Hmm," said Mumen Rider. "I wouldn't really know I guess. The heroes seem about as divided as usual, there's just no monsters to remind people how some heroes are stronger than others."

"I know," said Fubuki. "Not sure what Sycamore is really going for. Although he's certainly angered at least one hero, with Blast trying to get people to kill Sycamore or something."

"Blast?" asked Mumen Rider. "Really? I didn't know he was back!"

Lily's eyes widened, and the group sitting around Fubuki began murmuring amongst themselves.

"Yeah, he's kind of a jerk," said Fubuki. "I don't think he's done much aside from talk to higher class heroes."

"Huh," said Mumen Rider. "That is…that is a shame."

"Yeah, and I want to keep an eye on him," said Fubuki. "I don't think Blast could really beat Sycamore, but he does seem to have a plan to get his own support…"

"That…is troubling," said Mumen Rider. "I'll have to alert Accel, see what he thinks of this."

"Yeah I guess I'll leave it up to you guys to decide what to do," said Fubuki. "Just be careful."

"Thanks Miss Fubuki, I will," said Mumen Rider.

Fubuki chuckled.

"You can just call me Fubuki," she said. "And thank you for all you've done for my friends, I really appreciate it."

Mumen Rider's cheeks burned and he wiped away at his forehead.

"No problem," said Mumen Rider. "I'm here to help."

"And I thank you for it," said Fubuki. She rose from her seat, dusting tidbits of dirt off of her dress as she did so. "And I hate to say it, but I do have to leave."

"Aww," said Lily. "You can't stay for a bit?"

"Not now unfortunately," said Fubuki. "Just wanted to swing by to see how you were all doing."

"We'd welcome you anytime Miss Fubuki," said Mumen Rider. "Uh, I mean Fubuki."

Fubuki smiled at Mumen Rider, who dipped his head.

"Well, I'll see you all around," said Fubuki.

"Bye Fubuki!" said Lily.

"Goodbye, Miss Fubuki!" said the members of her group.

"See you around," said Mumen Rider.

Fubuki waved goodbye to her friends as she turned to leave the park. As she walked away, she spotted a man in a grey hoodie sitting along with some other heroes clustered near a park bench on the far side of the park. The man sat with his shoulders hunched, watching Fubuki through yellow eyes as tufts of silver hair jutted out from his hood against the wind. Fubuki squinted at the man, who stiffened as their eyes met. Turning away, the stranger got up from the bench and shoved his hands into his pockets, his back to Fubuki. Raising an eyebrow, Fubuki turned away from the man and left the park, following a street away from the place. She pulled the fur coat off of her shoulders as she walked, a warm breeze in the air. As a tall building came into view, Fubuki spotted Sycamore striding down the opposite side of the street, handing a notepad to a grinning adult as the man kept pace with a grumbling Sycamore. Fubuki almost had someone run into her back as she halted in place, and proceeded to head across the street over to Sycamore as the man who was following him took the notebook from Sycamore and ran off in the opposite direction.

"Sycamore!" said Fubuki.

Sycamore raised his head to look at Fubuki, tiredness etched into his face and his posture slouched.

"Ah, it's you," said Sycamore. "Christ, that's the last signature I'm doing for today."

"What uh, what have you been up to?" asked Fubuki.

Sycamore's signature grin spread across his face.

"Ah, just a little observation," said Sycamore. "Still seems like I was right thus far…"

"You're still on about that?" asked Fubuki.

"Well I can't really help it," said Sycamore. "Been thinking about this for quite some time…"

"Well, why not shift your focus to something else?" asked Fubuki. "I'm actually going to hang out with Saitama and sis and Secter tonight, maybe you could come?"

Sycamore narrowed his eyes at Fubuki, his body reeling back.

"You are inviting me…to hang out with you," said Sycamore.

"I mean, we kind of hung at your place," said Fubuki.

"Kind of…" said Sycamore. "Yet most of this has been centered around making me 'better' or some shit." His voice was heavy with a strange sort of exhaustion, as if Sycamore had earlier been presented with the fact that his house had burned down and then he had somehow lost his ship as well.

"Well-"

"Fubuki, you haven't told anyone about me potentially coming over have you," said Sycamore. "Where is this coming from."

"I-"

"Because I have been doing some thinking about all of what you, and Tatsumaki, and Secter said," said Sycamore. "And the more I think about it, the more it seems that you are only here to prove me wrong, point out my mistakes."

"It's-" said Fubuki.

"And don't get me wrong, I have made a few and feel guilty about them. Yet, you have no other reason to talk to me aside from that. I haven't exactly been kind to you or any of your friends, so why bother trying anyways?"

Sycamore crossed his arms as he towered over Fubuki, watching as Fubuki let her arms drop to her sides.

"Alright," said Fubuki. "You win. There was…another reason for me to talk to you, more than just me wanting you to not hurt anyone, more than me just seeing that you could be a good person after all that guilt I saw."

Sycamore raised an eyeline.

"Go on," he said.

"I…" said Fubuki. "I saw similarities between you and how my sister used to be. Not completely the same, but oddly similar at times. And she's told me a bit about herself lately, and in some ways it matches up to your story. And…I did like the idea of helping you out, partly because I never got to fully help my sister change the way Secter did. Not that I'm angry that Secter came along and did what he did, but sometimes I feel like I didn't do enough to help. Though I was frightened at the time, seeing what my sis has become makes me wish I was a bit more involved."

"I see," said Sycamore. "You wish you did more. And you're…comparing me to how your sister used to be. You've done that before."

"Yeah, although I see a bit of Secter in you I hope," said Fubuki. "Hoping you really were here to help people, although last time it seemed like you kinda had a low opinion of humanity."

"I did, still kinda do. But it's gotten…better, I suppose. Even still, I see what's going on here now. You see me as some kind of 'case' for you to solve. Not even as a person to befriend, just someone who you could 'help' in order to make you feel better."

"No, no! I genuinely do think you could be fun to hang around, if you didn't act like a prick sometimes and managed to control your anger."

Sycamore snarled at Fubuki, who took a step back.

"As I said, I am not here to make friends," said Sycamore. "And considering some of the people you hang out with, you should be used to the cold shoulder from time to time."

Fubuki glared at Sycamore, her hands balling into fists.

"Look, I just wanted to invite you to something nice," said Fubuki. "I'm sorry if I came off seeing you not like a potential friend or something, because to be fair, you haven't really acted like one. You've insulted me and my friends, threatened me, and almost hurt Secter and Tatsumaki possibly even more so. And because of that, I was looking more to get you on the right track than to be friendly. I had to muster myself up just to talk to you, because I had reason to be angry and afraid."

Sycamore's head slunk down to shoulder height, his eyes darting over to the other side of the street.

"Yes, yes, you always remind me of those mistakes," said Sycamore. "And…I suppose that's fair." He let out a small groan. "Ugh, I can see where you are coming from I guess. Even still, this hangout…I don't know about it."

"It'll be a good time," said Fubuki. "Though you were right about earlier, I should let the others know first."

"That would be smart," said Sycamore. "Yet…"

"It'll be nice," said Fubuki. "I know you've come from a horrible place, and it's probably warped you. It might be nice to you know, hang out with some people who are more understanding. Like you said, what's the point of having all that high-class stuff if you have no one to share it with."

"I will think about it. But don't go thinking that this has made me question who I am. I have made myself into someone else, a success, someone who has dragged himself out of a hellhole-"

"No one is questioning that," said Fubuki. "We just want to make sure this new you is doing alright and won't hurt anyone anymore."

"You…are surprisingly good with words," said Sycamore. "I kind of don't like it."

"That's because you don't like arguing with someone who has a point," said Fubuki.

"And you're not very good at planning," said Sycamore. "Go talk to your friends, make sure it's ok at least. And I will…think about it."

"Well, I hope you end up liking the idea," said Fubuki. "I wouldn't mind being on a bit better terms with you."

"Of all people, I didn't expect you to do all this…" said Sycamore. "But I'll consider it. It's very…kind of you."

Fubuki gave him a tiny smile.

"Maybe I'll see you later then."

"Maybe."

"Oh!" said Fubuki. "Won't you need directions to Saitama's house?"

"I am a billions of year-old alien with powers capable of bending the universe," said Sycamore. "I'll find it. Plus I think I've seen the place before."

"Uh, alright then."

Sycamore let out a small sigh.

"You all make things so difficult sometimes…" he said. He dipped his head, raising a hand over his chest. "Ugh, this is odd, I feel odd…"

"Hmm?" asked Fubuki.

"Nothing," said Sycamore. "It's nothing."

"Well, let me give you my number I guess so I can call you if everyone's cool with it," said Fubuki.

Sycamore nodded as he whipped out his phone.

 _Honestly can't believe I'm doing this,_ thought Fubuki. _But he seems to be turning around, maybe all he needs is a little push…heh, I guess I'm kind of like Secter in this scenario, helping one person out and then helping others by extension._

She exchanged her number with Sycamore, who kept his eyes narrowed as he inputted her number.

"Honestly didn't even know you had a phone," said Fubuki.

"I created it just now," said Sycamore. "Otherwise there'd be little need."

"Ah…ok," said Fubuki. "Well, there it is. Maybe I'll see you around then."

"Go get your friends' permission," said Sycamore.

"I'll see what they say, but I hope they'll be more welcoming."

"Don't count on it."

Fubuki frowned over Sycamore's grim expression and tired voice. Sighing, she took a step towards him.

"You know what?" she asked.

"Hmm?" asked Sycamore.

"I've got nothing to do for a little bit, why don't we grab some lunch or something?"

"Lunch? Now?" Sycamore raised his head back. Fubuki's offer almost shocked him out of his exhaustion, her kindness beginning to overwhelm him. Why did she feel the need to go this far? And more importantly, why was his heart beginning to hurt so much? Surely she had to be making some kind of mistake, in the wrong somehow…

"Sure!" said Fubuki. "Someplace kind of casual and more private I guess. There's a nice little sandwich place right down the way."

"I…like sandwiches."

"Good!" said Fubuki. "You want to go?" She gave a wide smile to Sycamore, radiating with joy. Sycamore rubbed at his chest, completely unable to fathom the situation. His head were swimming as if his brain had just been dunked into an ocean.

"I, uh," said Sycamore. "I…"

"It's fine if you don't want to."

"No, I do," said Sycamore. "Just…you keep on surprising me with all this kindness. It's…I don't know how to describe it, I almost feel I don't deserve this…"

Sycamore could already see the nightmares in the distance, a restless night sure to come for him. He didn't like thinking like this, wasn't the made man never supposed to doubt himself?

"Ah you let me and my friends stay at your place," said Fubuki. "You treated me, so why don't I return the favor?"

"I like treating people who are kind to me," said Sycamore. "Um…but we can go, yes that's fine."

"Alright!" said Fubuki. "Come, I'll lead you there."

"You're too kind," said Sycamore. "Not used to this."

"Well start getting used to it," said Fubuki. "Your heart's in the right place Sycamore, and I'd prefer someone like you to realize that and become better because of it."

"Someone like me…"

"Just come on."

. . .

Sycamore sat across from Fubuki, watching with tired eyes as Fubuki picked apart a plate of finger sandwiches, the dish small enough to be encapsulated with a single hand. He looked down at his own sandwich, only a quarter of the way eaten and complete with slices of bright green lettuce jutting out of the sides. They sat in two wire black chairs in an empty patio, the streets around quiet as well as the café itself. Fubuki was right, the place _was_ private.

"Ah…" said Sycamore. "Fubuki…"

Fubuki looked up from her sandwiches, eyes bright. There was something about her look that Sycamore liked, an energy he didn't see much from her. She was truly pleased to have treated him, and the thought both confused him and warmed his chest at the same time.

"Thanks," he said. "I uh…ugh, how do I talk about this…"

"What's wrong?" asked Fubuki. "Sycamore, you look like something's bothering you."

Sycamore tilted his neck down so that he could rest his head in a single propped up hand. He stared off into the street, scowling.

"I did some thinking," said Sycamore. "And it's made me realize…why I didn't think much of the idea of friends I suppose."

"Go on…" said Fubuki, her eyes widening. Perhaps Sycamore even had reasons similar to her sis as to being so distant.

"I lost just about everyone up there," said Sycamore. "I think I said this before, and it must be hard for you to relate or understand…but I grew so used to the idea of life being worthless, of people being thrown out like trash, killed in seconds sometimes for the most stupid of reasons…I hated it, I really did, I wanted to avoid being like the killers and monsters up there, what everyone threatened to become should they spend too much time trapped in the Nothing, a big post-apocalyptic hellhole…"

"You lost everyone…" said Fubuki.

"I went through friends like a shredder goes through paper," said Sycamore. "I started to have a hard time even calling people friends anymore, because I didn't see much point. Either they'd leave, get killed in some awful way, or turn out to be not as friendly as I thought. So…tired of that…"

"Sycamore, things aren't like that here," said Fubuki. Part of her wanted to reach out to him, but just a bit of tingling fear, deep within the recesses of her brain, told her otherwise.

"I know!" he shouted. Slamming his hands on the table, Sycamore stared down into his lap, unable to look up at Fubuki. "I…I know. That's why I came here for one thing. I wanted to be something better, you know this. But as of late, so many doubts, so much kindness from the people…I should've expected it, eh? That people would appreciate what I would do…but for you, and Secter, and Tatsumaki to reach out despite all the issues I caused…I didn't…you don't…you don't see that kind of thing up there. You so much as look at someone a weird way, and guns are out, and people are dead."

"Everyone is hateful…" said Fubuki. "All…stuck together after a disastrous war, I think Secter said something about this a while back."

"Yes," said Sycamore, clutching at the front of his suit jacket, right at its heart. "Ugh…my whole body feels weird, I almost feel nauseous."

"It wasn't the sandwich, right?"

"No, Fubuki. It wasn't the sandwich."

"Sorry. Bad time for a joke."

"It's ok. I…appreciate you trying to lighten the mood. I appreciate…all that you've done for me, and honestly I should've expected someone to do something like this. Just didn't think that it would…you know, be someone like you."

"Like me?"

"Uh, hard to explain," said Sycamore, scratching at the back of his neck. "Someone who has so much reason to fear me, but pushed onwards anyways, and is, you know, of such high class."

"Mmhmm," said Fubuki, pushing a finger sandwich down from atop its bready hill and onto the side of the plate. "I don't really fear you anymore Sycamore, you just seem…sad to me. And lonely. And hurting."

"I…guess," said Sycamore. "Just…imagine if…"

Fubuki leaned forward.

 _He's about to say something big,_ thought Fubuki. _I can tell, with the way he's talking and the way he moves. He's almost kind of predictable in a way, body and stomach hurting means he's upset or guilty, he shrinks when he thinks he's losing, so on and so forth. But anyways, let it out Sycamore. Maybe there's even more stuff that I can relate to sis, or even Secter, you've also got that same kind of guilt and sadness Secter seemed to have, but different…just different because of what you're used to._

"Imagine if you had done everything you could to build your image," said Sycamore. "To make yourself the person you wanted to be, because the alternative was unimaginable to you. Everything you could…but slowly you begin to doubt, and then someone shows kindness, or maybe there's some other big event that happens to you…and you begin to realize…maybe all that work…was for nothing."

Fubuki didn't think of Secter or Tatsumaki in that moment. Instead, her eyes widened again, and she thought right back to her group, back in the days when she forced people in. Back when she had threatened Saitama with words and then a boxcutter. Back when her friends were also her tools for herself. Then came her finally standing up, deciding to fight her sister and reimagine her group, every barb that was exchanged, her sister bleeding on the ground, her feelings of worry and her hopes of change, even if they were nearly dashed but a few days after the fight…

"Sycamore," said Fubuki. Her hands were starting to shake. She understood, even if it was different, she understood. "Sycamore, I understand."

"You do?"

"I do," said Fubuki. "I used to see myself as a leader of my group, but I used them as well as befriended them. I couldn't…imagine the idea of not having a group to make myself look better. But…then I stood up for myself against my sis, back when she was so controlling and hurt my confidence so much…and I began to change. And it's a good thing Sycamore! You wanting to change, doubting yourself because of faults you recognized, it can be a good thing."

She reached across the table, slow but steady. It felt like it took an hour to cross a platform that was only a few feet across, but finally she made it. Fubuki laid her hand on Sycamore's wrist, wrapping her fingers across his arm. Sycamore stiffened like a board in his seat.

"It's scary," said Fubuki. "I was scared when I wanted to try and get stronger and better, possibly without my group. But I knew it was for the best, that I couldn't just rely on being the old me with the old faults that I knew existed and were poisoning me. I had to change, you know? Change is hard, and it's terrifying, but oftentimes it's a good thing too."

"I…tried to change already," said Sycamore. "You're telling me…I have to do it again?"

"It's really just your outlook," said Fubuki. "As a person, you're actually pretty nice!"

Sycamore was shivering and Fubuki could tell, his body almost vibrating against his seat. He was staring down at Fubuki's hand, eyes affixed to the touch. Her hand was warm against his skin, her touch somehow more delicate than Sycamore thought but also firm enough to where pulling away would be a difficult task. Even still, Sycamore didn't feel a need to retreat, he was too frozen in place anyways.

"Are you nervous Sycamore?" asked Fubuki. "Am I making you uncomfortable? You _are_ shaking."

"No," said Sycamore. "I'm just…it's so hard…to…to take this all in…"

"Take what in?"

"I'm really in a different place now," said Sycamore. "With such different people…I could really…I could really start a new life…"

"As much as you like your new persona, it's still shaped by that old world. When in truth, it doesn't have to be, Sycamore. It really doesn't have to be. I bet you could be a real sweetheart if you were just not so afraid all the time, not so willing to put other people down…"

Now Sycamore was uncomfortable. It was too much, Fubuki was punching her way through his defenses and melting through his chest. He gasped for air, prompting a worried look from Fubuki.

"You're having a hard time with this, aren't you?" asked Fubuki. "I didn't think about it…but Secter had some time to adjust after he got back from the war, whereas you…you got here recently, didn't you?"

"Came here…almost immediately after I got out…"

"You poor thing…"

Sycamore sighed, slouching down in his seat. Fubuki smiled at his sudden relaxation, wishing that Sycamore would just calm himself completely. He was a bit of a mess in her eyes, but there was a lot of good to him, perhaps even some surprisingly sweet elements too. She kept her hand over his wrist.

"You surprised me with how kind you were," said Sycamore. "And part of me still doesn't understand why you are willing to go this far, even if people like Secter and Tatsumaki were such a big influence on you…but maybe, maybe that's just how you are. You have a big heart, an enormous heart, and I'm not used to that kind of thing. People that kind perish up there, there's no one left."

"This isn't the Nothing," said Fubuki. "And there's you."

Sycamore let out a tiny chuckle.

"My heart isn't that big," he said.

"I think there's more kindness in you than you realize," said Fubuki. "I think you really do care. Like, you saved all those people, even if you had some ulterior motive you made sure not a single person got hurt, you got upset over Saitama not caring about people supposedly, felt real bad over scaring me and hurting Mumen and you even healed him, and think about it, if someone were to hurt me or were to threaten me, how would you react?"

Sycamore looked at Fubuki, his eyes wide.

"I'd be enraged," said Sycamore. "Don't…don't talk about stuff like that."

Fubuki smiled at him.

"See what I mean?" asked Fubuki. "I had a feeling you were a softie at heart. When you got all excited to show me and my friends your room, at first I thought it was an ego thing but then you offered drinks, and seemed genuinely happy for us to be there…"

"Yes…" said Sycamore. "Like I said, I do like treating people who I like. Though, I also did it because I felt bad."

"That too," said Fubuki. "Come on Sycamore, you can make yourself a happy life here, you don't have to go on being so afraid or violent! You don't have to preoccupy yourself with all this weird humankind destroying itself stuff."

"Mmm."

"Mmm?"

"Mmm."

"Sycamore…" said Fubuki. "Come on now. You enjoy what's happening now, don't you?"

"I do," said Sycamore. "It's…if something like this were to happen, me…reconsidering things, then it would take time at least…"

"Well I don't expect it to happen in a day," said Fubuki. "But I'll help you, I really would like seeing you start to feel better and healthier."

Sycamore made a sound something between a sniffle and a cough. He stared back down at his lap, his shoulders starting to quiver.

"Sycamore?" asked Fubuki. "Are you…"

"It's nothing," he said.

"You look like…you look like you're going to start crying."

Sycamore was in fact holding back tears, a ball of pain forming in his throat as he forced every single possible stream back.

"No…" he said. "It's fine…"

"You sound choked up too."

"You're doing too much."

"What?"

"Jumping onto this, I don't know. It's too much, I can't handle all of this right now."

"Sycamore we don't have to have you changing all in a day. I just think you have a lot of potential to be a really good friend, you just need to start working on those fears and insecurities of yours."

"You're too kind…you jumped onto this…"

"Sycamore, please."

Fubuki brushed her fingers down Sycamore's forearm, feeling him shake underneath as he did so. Stopping partway down his arm, she closed her hand around him again. It was as if she were shackling him to the spot with her own hand, and Sycamore knew it.

"Just calm down for a second," said Fubuki. "It's alright."

"I…I'm going to go now," said Sycamore. "I have a lot of thinking to do." He swallowed as he started to get up, Fubuki protesting by gripping tighter onto his arm. Eventually she had to release him as Sycamore pulled back from his chair and stood over the table. "But…thank you, for listening, and talking to me, and inviting me to lunch…you can have what's left of my sandwich if you want."

"That's yours to take Sycamore," said Fubuki. "And I'm paying."

"I was going to pay-"

"It's my treat," said Fubuki. "Really, it's yours."

"Ok," said Sycamore, his voice soft. He reached down and picked up the sandwich. "I…I guess I'll go now, thank you for all this…it does mean a lot, even if it's…hard for me to take in right now."

"I'm glad I'm getting through to you," said Fubuki. "And I hope you change your mind on things, I really do."

"I'll…think about it," said Sycamore. "There's…still a lot of stuff to be done, especially with Blast."

"He's a problem."

"Yeah," said Sycamore. "But I guess I'll see you later, Fubuki."

"At Saitama's place."

"Hmm? Oh, right. Yeah, if they're ok with it…then I guess I'll come."

"Great!" said Fubuki, clasping both of her hands together and looking up at Sycamore with shining eyes.

"You're really that excited for _me_ to show up huh," said Sycamore. "You really are a sweet person, to go through with all this."

"I think you're worth it," said Fubuki. "You're a good person deep down, and I like seeing people like you change."

 _Especially if you could be a potential threat to the Earth, but that's neither here nor there…_ thought Fubuki.

"I'll…see you later then," said Sycamore.

"See you," said Fubuki. "This was a good talk, don't you think?"

"Yeah," said Sycamore, his suspicions still creeping around his mind. He started to walk from the table, at once touched but at the same time, still finding it so hard to believe that anyone would take all that time to help someone who had hurt them.

. . .

Tatsumaki laid her head against Secter's side as he sat down on the couch, smirking up at him when they met eyes. Secter leaned down and kissed her on the forehead as King shuffled over to the other end of the couch a cushion away from Tatsumaki's feet.

"He's got it this time," said Saitama, leaning over the back of the couch to focus his gaze on the television. Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow at Saitama as he crushed the cushions to the side of her.

"Good luck," said Tatsumaki to Secter. "King probably spends way too much time playing games."

"I just do it for fun," said King.

"Beat him!" said Saitama. "Genos, run your probability thingy for Secter winning!"

"It's unclear," said Genos. "In a three-round match, the chances for Secter to win two out of three seem to be around twenty-five percent."

"Hell that's much better than my chances," said Saitama. "You got this, Secter."

"No promises," said Secter. He glanced out the window at a passing ream of moonlight before whipping his head back to the television to choose his fighter.

A knock came at the door and Genos left to answer, arriving back into the living room a few seconds later with Bang. The old man held several brown bags filled with groceries and he set them down on the table in the kitchen. He frowned when he saw Secter and King sitting frozen on the couch, controllers tight in their hands.

"Ah, playing video games again I see," said Bang.

"Don't worry, won't take long," said Secter. "King usually curb stomps us anyways."

"Very well, very well," said Bang.

"Ah we'll play some card games or something later," said Secter. "By the way I had meant to ask before, how is the dojo doing nowadays?"

Bang pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and dragged it over to the living room, sitting near the entrance from one room to the next.

"Fine, fine," said Bang. "I'll admit, I have lost some students due to the HA falling, others to the strict regimen, and it's been a while since Fubuki's friends have been there…I have been meaning to ask her about that. Where is she?"

"She said she'll be here soon," said Tatsumaki. She folded her feet behind her legs as she scrunched her body further from King and closer to Secter. "Don't know where she is now though."

"Very well," said Bang. "I brought some groceries to make something for all of us."

Secter and Tatsumaki glanced over at the bags sitting atop the table.

"I can help with that," said Secter.

"Me too," said Tatsumaki. She looked up at Secter, her eyes shining. "You can be my sous chef."

Secter chuckled as the screen faded to black and flashed a bright logo reading FIGHT.

"Alright, but I get first taste," said Secter.

Tatsumaki nudged her head close to Secter's arm.

"Hey!" said Saitama. "He's got to concentrate!"

"Can it baldy," said Tatsumaki. "He's got this."

Saitama's eyes narrowed in irritation.

"If he loses it's on you," said Saitama. "Alright here we go, you gotta win Secter!"

Twenty minutes later the match was over, with King having won two rounds and Secter winning one. As the last round came to a close with King's victory, another knock sounded off from the door. Bang got up and answered, welcoming Fubuki inside as she pulled her fur coat off and set it on a nearby hanger along with Saitama's cape. Fubuki followed Bang to the living room, where she spotted Saitama collapse along the backside of the couch as the final results of the fight were displayed on the screen.

"Ah well," said Secter. He peered over at King and extended a hand. "Good fight."

King gave the tiniest of smiles and raised his own hand to shake Secter's.

"Thanks," said King. "Sportsmanship goes a long way you know. Sometimes I wish certain people would get that."

"Still here," said Saitama.

"Hey sis," said Tatsumaki, glancing over at Fubuki.

Fubuki waved at Secter and Tatsumaki, her spirits soaring. She had so much to tell them.

"Hey Fubuki," said Secter. He popped up in his seat as if realizing something vital. "Oh, and I guess this means it's Saitama's turn now."

Saitama groaned from behind the couch.

"If you couldn't win…" said Saitama. "Then is there any point?"

"Ah come on," said Secter. "You've seen that King isn't unbeatable. I taught you the combos and moves and how to use them, and you've been watching me do these moves all throughout the fights. The only step for you now is to practice them and use them, and to get better at them against a superior foe. And who knows, maybe you'll even win a round…I got faith in you."

Saitama leapt up from behind the couch, his eyes clouded with uncertainty.

"You got this," said Secter. "Just one win, it's all you need. And you can do it, you know the way."

"Alright alright I'll try," said Saitama.

"There you go," said Secter. "Tatsu, you wanna go cook something now?"

"Yeah alright," said Tatsumaki. "Can barely understand this game anyways."

The two of them rose from the couch and headed to the kitchen as Saitama took Secter's spot and picked up a controller.

"Oh, and Fubuki, I haven't seen your group much lately," said Bang. "Is there a problem?"

"They have been caught up with Mumen's group and I think losing their jobs," said Fubuki. "I'm sure they'll come back soon, I'd like to come back too."

"Well I certainly hope so," said Bang. "I enjoy seeing you all at the dojo."

"They and I are always looking to improve plus it's good exercise," said Fubuki. "And we all like seeing you too."

Bang smiled at Fubuki before turning his attention back to the television. Saitama was squirming in his seat as his character took a fiery punch to the gut from King's massive fighter.

"Now if only they had a dojo for Saitama's game-playing," said Bang.

Fubuki chuckled. Then her eyes went wide.

"Oh, everyone!" said Fubuki.

"Not now!" said Saitama. "Fuck!"

"Best two out of three?" asked King.

"Yeah yeah," said Saitama.

"Um," said Fubuki. "Guys…I know it's kind of short notice, and I know it seems a bit weird, but…"

"What is it?" asked Tatsumaki from the kitchen. Secter had already laid out all the ingredients from the bags before him on the table, but looked up from them over at Fubuki.

"I uh," said Fubuki. "I actually told Sycamore that we might be able to have him over."

"What?" asked Tatsumaki. "And you didn't tell any of us?"

"Yeah what the hell?" asked Saitama.

"Well I told him I had to clear it with you guys first so…" said Fubuki.

"Nah," said Saitama. "We have enough people here already."

"Wait," said Bang. "You all actually know him?"

"Yep," said Saitama.

"We were part of a group!" said Bang. "Weren't we supposed to alert each other?"

"Yeaaaah we kinda failed in that department," said Secter. "Although to be fair, we were mainly supposed to use it for emergencies or if Sycamore did anything questionable. Which…he did, but we mostly had under control."

"Mostly?" said Bang.

"It's fine now," said Fubuki. "And I think him hanging out a bit with us could help change his perspective on things…"

Secter scrunched his face in thought while Tatsumaki crossed her arms.

"Well…" said Secter. "I do appreciate you trying to get him to change a bit, but I'm not sure…"

"We did kinda hang out at his place already," said Fubuki. "Even if it was only for a bit."

"True," said Secter.

"Apparently I've been missing things," said Bang.

"Yeah me too," said King. "Although to be fair, I don't want to get too involved…unless necessary."

"I will only allow Sycamore to stay if master allows it," said Genos.

"You can call me Saitama by the way," he said. "You don't have to call me master all the time."

"Master, I am used to calling you that," said Genos. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," said Saitama. "King, pick a fighter already."

"Alright," said Genos. "I will only allow Sycamore to come if Saitama allows it."

"We got that," said Secter. "And you know what? I'd be ok with it I suppose. I…might check him for a weapon at the door, just in case."

"Good idea," said Tatsumaki. "He's kind of unstable."

"I don't blame him," said Fubuki. "I mean, did you see what they did to his back?"

Tatsumaki rubbed at her shoulder, her face downcast.

"Yeah, I remember," said Tatsumaki. "Alright, call him over then."

"Hang on," said Saitama. "This is my house!"

"Oh come on Saitama, it won't be so bad," said Fubuki. "He's got some good qualities to him."

"You did say you appreciated change and I think Sycamore is trying to do so," said Secter. "Plus, didn't he give you fries once?"

"Yeah, even if he-" said Saitama. Sighing, Saitama dropped his shoulders as the screen flickered back to life from pitch black. "Alright fine. Give em a call."

"Master has allowed it," said Genos. "So I will too."

"Saitama, Genos," said Saitama. "Saitama."

"Right," said Genos.

"Alright then," said Fubuki. "Bang, King, any objections?"

"If you all can vouch for him, then go ahead," said Bang.

"Fine," said King. "Saitama, you have to learn to dodge better."

"I…am…trying…" said Saitama.

"Alright I'm texting him," said Fubuki. She walked into the kitchen as Secter gathered the ingredients and set them on a nearby counter. Tatsumaki pulled out her own phone to look at a recipe, and started dicing tomatoes with her psychic powers, each one pulling itself apart as it glowed green in the air.

"Whoa," said Secter as he eyed the tomato. "Never seen you do that before, that's pretty neat."

"You like it?" asked Tatsumaki. "Because that's nothing. Watch this." Upon lifting her finger, three more tomatoes rose from their spots on the counter and ripped themselves into perfect bite-sized chunks. Smiling, Tatsumaki waved them into a neat stack before lifting a cutting board out from a cupboard with her telekinesis and setting both the tomatoes and board down on the counter.

"I guess that's why you're the chef," said Secter. "Seems like I have a lot to learn from you."

"Oh, like you couldn't do this anyways," said Tatsumaki. She gave him a sideways smirk. "Though I would say you have a lot to learn…"

"Is that so?" asked Secter. "Like what?"

"You always have to remember," said Tatsumaki. She walked over to Secter and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling herself upward as she stood on the tips of her toes. Tatsumaki kissed Secter as he leaned down, the two of them holding each other steady as they swayed in the kitchen. When Tatsumaki drifted back, she continued to speak. "To kiss the cook."

"Wow," said Secter, grinning at her. "That sounds like something I'd say."

"Yeah well," said Tatsumaki. "It was all I had."

"It's cute," said Secter. "You're the best, Tatsu."

Tatsumaki beamed before turning over to see Fubuki walking into the kitchen. The taller esper was staring down at her phone as she walked.

"He got back to me," she said. "He's on his way."

"Oh God," said Tatsumaki. "He better behave."

"I hope so," said Fubuki. "We've talked to him before, I think he can learn to behave himself. And plus…I had a really meaningful talk with him earlier today."

"Oh?" asked Secter. Tatsumaki squinted over at her sister.

"Yeah!" said Fubuki. "He looked seriously on the verge of admitting he should totally change, I think. Talked about his experiences, how he felt…hell, I could even relate to him in some ways. Plus I even almost got him to cry! He really is looking for a better life and good friends deep down, I'm sure."

"Woah, wait a second," said Secter. "You almost got him to _cry_?"

"Uh, sis," said Tatsumaki. "You sure you're not taking things too far? Or pushing too fast? He seems…unstable to me, I get wanting to help him out but…"

"No, you don't understand," said Fubuki. "I'm sure we'll see more when he gets here. But really, he's a softie deep down, I knew it, I knew that he cared!"

"Wow," said Secter, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows. "I didn't know you were that committed to this."

"I'm interested in him now," said Fubuki. "He's just…a sad person to me, and I feel kind of bad for him. He's actually quite kind if you get through to him. Plus you know, getting him to cool it might just be for the benefit of everyone."

"Yeah," said Secter. "But just…be careful, alright? Sycamore probably got out from the Nothing pretty recently, and as such has had some…traumatic experiences I'm sure. So we need to be delicate with him, even if he tries to brush some of what he's experienced off."

"He did get out recently," said Fubuki. "And I know, I know, but I'd like to keep talking with him…"

"Hmph," said Tatsumaki. "What did you do, just visit him at his home?"

"No we got some food together," said Fubuki. "He had a lot of trouble talking, but I think we made really good progress together!"

"You're sounding like a psychologist or something," said Tatsumaki.

"Yeah…" said Secter.

"Look, I just want to help," said Fubuki. "I like the idea of doing something that you guys are good at doing too, helping people change. I wish I was more active in doing that with you, sis. And now, well…Sycamore seems like a good person to me, I'd like to help him out too."

"You did fine with me sis," said Tatsumaki. "I appreciate all that you did, and all that you put up with, and for forgiving me in the end. Just…like what Secter said, be careful with that guy. I think he might have good deep down in him too, but he's still just too unstable for me to be comfortable around him."

"You guys will see," said Fubuki. "When he gets here."

"Alright," said Secter. "Hopefully you're right in regards to how much you got through to him."

Fubuki stood with her back to the rest of the group, who were all engaged in watching Saitama struggle in his second match with King. Secter and Tatsumaki separated to the two ends of the counter in front of Fubuki, each person focusing on a different task.

"By the way sis," said Fubuki. "I'm glad you told me about some of those things you did yesterday."

"Hmm?" asked Tatsumaki as she grabbed a long metal spoon out from a jar of various large cooking instruments. "Oh, right. It was a bit overdue."

"What was overdue?" asked Secter. "Oh, do you need me to go-"

"No no, it was about-" said Tatsumaki. She glanced over Fubuki's shoulder to see Bang and the others all clustered around the couch, none of them even giving the slightest look in their direction.

"It was about the lab," said Tatsumaki. "And Blast."

"Wait," said Secter. "Fubuki didn't know?"

"I knew some things," said Fubuki. "Bits and pieces. Something about Tatsumaki being sent off to some kind of special school."

Tatsumaki slammed her fist down on the counter.

"That's bullshit," said Tatsumaki. "What those sorry excuses for parents told you was bullshit."

"I know, I know," said Fubuki. "I know all that now. And since you seemed so…different when you got back, I knew something strange had have to have happened."

"And you never knew…" said Secter.

"No, sis only told me a bit here and there," said Fubuki. "And I don't blame you sis."

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. "I do…I do wish I had told you some things earlier, but there was a lot of stuff happening, and I just…was trying to kind of forget all of it for a while, then Secter and I went and destroyed the lab and it just kind of went to the back of my mind…and then Blast showed up and it all came back."

"That man's a bastard," said Secter. "But even still…I can't believe you told me the whole thing before you told your sister."

Tatsumaki looked over at Secter, her body angled towards him.

"You were special to me," said Tatsumaki. "Still are, but you know what I mean. How you listened to me and were willing to help me out. I had…thought about telling Fubuki about my time in the lab before, but only to reinforce my points about not trusting people. When you came along and I began to trust you, I realized that my way was the wrong way to go, but I wanted some closure on that place first. And who better to get it with than the man who had done so much for me and was always willing to be there for me."

"Ah…" said Secter. "So it just kinda got put off then."

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. "It did."

"Well, then what did you think?" asked Secter as he glanced over at Fubuki.

"It…put a lot of things into perspective," said Fubuki. "And yeah, I do kinda wish I had known earlier. That my sis was put through so much pain when she was so young, and it kept hurting all those years without anyone knowing…and she had no one to talk to, and felt she couldn't tell me, and it just hurt our relationship…" Fubuki sniffed and wiped at one of her eyes, her cheeks turning red as she did so. "Fuck, why am I crying all of a sudden…"

"It's ok," said Tatsumaki. Her expression went soft as she stepped over to Fubuki and laid a hand on her arm. "It's alright. I…know it was a lot for you, it was a lot for me too. But I wanted you to know, and I want you to know I'm getting better. And I hope you're getting better too…I want us both to be happy."

"And I want you all to be happy," said Secter. He walked over to Tatsumaki and Fubuki. "We're all in this together, we can move on and grow from this." Tatsumaki pulled Secter over to the duo before him and the three of them all hugged together, with Fubuki stifling a small cry as she found herself wrapped in the arms of her sister and Secter.

"Thanks guys," said Fubuki. "I…I just worry about all this a lot. I wish I knew."

"Well you do now," said Tatsumaki. "And I know it didn't excuse how I acted towards you, I know that now. But…I hope it kinda lets you know why I did some of the things I did, although it's still tough for me to forgive myself for most of them."

"I forgive you," said Fubuki. "You're my sister and I love you, how could I not forgive you."

"I…did some terrible things," said Tatsumaki. "But I know you're accepting of me trying to change, and I am so grateful for that."

"You have changed," said Fubuki. "You're not trying, you have."

"We all have," said Secter. "We've all gotten through our mistakes together, and we all want each other to be able to be happy and to be there for each other. I think we've done a good job getting to that point."

"Yeah," said Fubuki. "Ugh, my eyes are still watering."

A knock came at the door. The trio began to separate.

"That must be him," said Fubuki. "I'll…I'll go get it."

"I'll come with," said Secter.

"Me too," said Tatsumaki.

The three of them left from their group hug and headed towards the door as a unit, with Fubuki at the forefront. She reached the door and pulled it aside, to see Sycamore standing on the other side. He wore his silver suit and huffed at them as he spotted the three in the entrance.

"Oh," said Sycamore, his head dipping. "The gang's all here."

"Welcome," said Fubuki. "I guess, uh-"

"You didn't bring any weapons right?" asked Secter.

Sycamore flashed his suit coat open to reveal a black shirt and empty pockets underneath.

"No, I didn't bring it," said Sycamore. "Shouldn't be a reason to, right?"

"That's right," said Tatsumaki. "Now come in."

Sycamore shifted his coat back over his shoulders, eying the trio as he stepped inside. He looked over at where King and the rest of the group were sitting and sneered.

"And there's the rest," said Sycamore.

 _Some heroes they are,_ thought Sycamore. _Though I guess there just isn't as much work to go around…_

"You must be Sycamore," said Bang, twisting over towards the entrance. "You…have done good work against the monsters."

"Thanks," said Sycamore. "And you must be Bang…you actually fit the requirements for being an actual hero, so congratulations."

"Uh, thank you?" asked Bang.

"And the rest?" asked Sycamore. He stepped past a confused Fubuki and a suspicious Tatsumaki to stand in the area connecting the living room and the kitchen. Saitama and King paid him little mind, with Saitama slumping down in his seat as he lost his second round to King.

"Master, it's Sycamore," said Genos. "And you must learn to dodge better if you want to beat King."

"Yes Genos thank you Genos," said Saitama. "And hey Sycamore, welcome to my house. Where everyone gathers nowadays."

"I can see that," said Sycamore. He shifted from one foot to the other as Fubuki and Tatsumaki passed him to go to the kitchen, and Secter shut the front door before following the two espers to their destination. "Bit tiny for a meeting place." He cast a glance over at Fubuki, who smiled at him upon meeting his gaze. Sycamore swallowed and turned away.

 _I still don't know what to think,_ he thought. _She…is a kind person, and maybe she's not completely wrong, but…am I just a case to her? Some problem to be solved? And why does she push so fast…_

Tatsumaki leaned against the kitchen counter as she watched Sycamore out of the corner of her eye. Secter stood beside her, his gaze also flickering back to Sycamore every time he finished chopping a vegetable on the cutting board Tatsumaki had brought out. Fubuki stood near the two of them, her eyes trained on Sycamore.

Sycamore tugged at his collar, grimacing at all of the stares boring into his soul. Grumbling, he walked over to Fubuki.

"Well, thank you inviting me," said Sycamore. "Even if you have your motives…"

"Look, I just want you to chill out," said Fubuki, smiling politely. "That's all. Just calm down, relax, I think we had a real nice talk earlier today."

"Yes," said Sycamore, a weak smile on his face. "It was…thought-provoking, to say the least."

"You can relax here with us," said Secter. "Why not pull up a seat? You can eat with us later, or even watch Saitama over there… How is he doing against King anyways?"

Sycamore twisted towards the screen.

"He's fighting King again," said Sycamore. "Looks like King has two wins."

"That was the longest I've ever lasted against King!" said Saitama. "Come on!"

"You've got this master!" said Genos. "You've gained in power from the last match!"

"I don't think it works that way," said King. "But he is getting better. Kind of."

Sycamore raised an eyeline at the screen.

"I could beat King easy," said Sycamore.

"Hang on, it's my turn first," said Saitama.

"Technically he's already lost two out of three, but he wants to do the last round," said Bang. "I applaud you for not giving up, Saitama."

"Yeah yeah," said Saitama. "Ah come on King! Just hold still!"

"No," said King.

Sycamore shook his head and walked over to the backside of the couch to stand next to Genos. Crossing his arms, Sycamore narrowed his eyes as Fubuki walked over to stand by Bang. She leaned against the wall over by the old martial artist and smiled weakly at Sycamore, who still felt too intimidated to return the expression. She made his head swirl, anger and fear but stirrings of warmth as well. Part of him screamed to reach out to her, to say something to start a new conversation with her, but the other part told him not to say a word.

"So," said Sycamore. "This is what you all do now."

"There are no monsters to fight," said Genos. "But I still have my own mission."

"Is that right," said Sycamore.

"Yeah," said Saitama. "We're just gonna have to get jobs or something now, not our fault you killed all the monsters."

Sycamore's eyes lit up, a shining fire within each yellow pool of an iris.

"Yes, but even when they did exist, you still had your own problems in your ways to take them out-" said Sycamore.

"Ah cut it out," said Saitama. "We've all had our problems, but we're just gonna have to move on past em and grow now or something. Like what Secter's always saying."

"So you say," said Sycamore. "And yet, do you even care about anything ye-"

"Fuck!" yelled Saitama. His character fell to the ground on the screen, his health bar turned black while King's was only a quarter of the way depleted.

"Not as good as last time," said King. "But hey, you landed some hits."

"Ugh," said Saitama. He slumped down into his seat, dropping his controller to his side. "There's no point in even trying, is there."

Secter looked over from his place in the kitchen, a rising steam near his face causing him to move away from the bubbling pot which held the chopped vegetables. He frowned over at Saitama.

"Ah come on Saitama, there's still reason to keep going," said Secter. "You can still do this, even if it's difficult."

"I'm running out of motivation," said Saitama. "Always running out of motivation."

Secter flinched. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sycamore beat him to the punch.

"Ah I could beat King easy," said Sycamore.

"What?" asked Saitama. "You ever even played this game before?"

"Look, it's all about acting and reacting at the right time," said Sycamore. He grinned down at a skeptical Saitama. "Give me the controller."

"Sycamore's going to get destroyed," muttered Tatsumaki to Secter. "Not sure why he's offering to play."

 _I think I might know what he's going for,_ thought Secter. _But I don't think it's really to bolster Saitama…_

"Well fine, give it a go," said Saitama. He handed the controller to Sycamore, whose grin widened as he selected a character.

"Everyone's trying to beat me nowadays," said King. "Glad I can give you guys a goal to work for."

"If a somewhat unobtainable one…" said Fubuki.

"Best of three," said Sycamore. "Let's go."

The first round began, with King's fighter readying into a defensive stance. Sycamore's cheeks began to ache from how far his grin had spread.

A flash went off in Secter's brain, a great burst of white to propel him out from his concentration on the ingredients before him. In an instant, he saw a blurred image of King's fighter moving slower than normal, every punch like a thrust through molasses rather than the rapid machine-gun fire punches King typically dished out.

 _He's…cheating,_ thought Secter. _Using his powers…to cheat. Are you serious?_

Secter turned from his spot in the kitchen to give Sycamore a quizzical look. As his gaze fell on Sycamore, the Soulless straightened up as if remembering something important. Sycamore glanced over at Secter, his eyes wide. Secter raised an eyebrow at Sycamore, before his eyes shifted over to Saitama, who sat slumped over in his seat. Frowning, Secter turned back to Sycamore and gave him a little nod. Sycamore smirked at Secter and jerked his head back to the television.

 _Can't believe I'm doing this,_ thought Secter. _Christ, you better be smart about this Sycamore, if you don't want to be accused of cheating._

Sycamore won the first round against King, causing Saitama to jump out of his seat.

"What the hell?" asked Saitama. "You won! I mean, it was close, but…"

"Easy," said Sycamore. "Best two out of three King?"

"Alright alright," said King. "It's weird, coulda sworn I picked a faster character…"

Secter felt Tatsumaki's hand on the small of his back and he turned to see her smiling up at him.

"He's actually somewhat friendly," said Tatsumaki. "And he came here. He's still not my favorite, but he might just be turning around."

"Yeah maybe," said Secter. "He's a…bit different though, he really seems steeped in the world he came from."

"Doesn't surprise me," said Tatsumaki. "Considering what I saw."

Fubuki walked into the kitchen, smiling from ear to ear.

"Well," she said. "Look at him over there, playing with Saitama."

Secter smiled back at her.

"You're proud of yourself huh," said Secter. "I'm proud too. You got him to get out here."

"Looks like I can help out too," said Fubuki.

"Well yeah," said Tatsumaki. "No one really doubted that."

"I mean, I saw a lot of similarities between him, bits of Secter, and even you of the past, sis," said Fubuki.

"Ugh," said Tatsumaki. "Please stop saying that."

"Oh," said Fubuki. "Why?"

"I don't like to think about it," said Tatsumaki. "Even if it's…kinda true. Ugh, I even tried to hurt Secter a few times back in the day, even more than Sycamore did."

"Yeah but you weren't really going to do it," said Secter. "Not everything is the same."

"It's…close in some ways," said Tatsumaki. "I don't like it."

"Well," said Fubuki. "At least it allows us to understand him better."

"I guess," said Tatsumaki. "I still struggle to understand him sometimes."

"Yeah," said Secter. "He's a bit more difficult to penetrate with just talking-"

"Bullshit!" yelled Saitama as he jumped up onto the couch cushions. "Guys! Guys! Sycamore just beat King three times in a row!"

"What?" asked Tatsumaki. "How?"

 _This was a bad idea,_ thought Secter. _Saitama caught on too fast, he's not bolstered by this-_

"My character did seem to be going slower…" said King.

Sycamore set his controller down on the back of the couch, smug.

"Nah, just all skill," said Sycamore. "Even if you felt slower, I had all the right moves." He grinned as he crossed his arms.

"I'm not sure…" said Bang. "You haven't even played this game before, right?"

"There is next to no chance Sycamore should've won," said Genos. "With no experience in the game, going up against King…"

"There's no way," said Saitama. "You must've cheated."

Sycamore's grin retreated behind closing lips.

"No," said Sycamore. "You all just can't accept true skill."

"There's no way," said King. "No possible way."

"Yeah it's bullshit!" said Saitama.

Sycamore shook his head and left the back of the couch, heading over to where Bang was sitting.

"Can't accept true talent," said Sycamore. "Can't accept true skill."

"Bullshit," said Saitama. "You should've lost."

Sycamore turned back over to Saitama, his eyes ablaze.

"Yeah you really should've," said King.

"Guys," said Secter from the kitchen. "Calm down."

"You should've lost," said Genos.

Sycamore's left eye twitched, his hands opening and closing as if crushing an invisible stress ball within his fingers.

"Is that what you believe?" asked Sycamore.

"Yeah, it is," said Saitama. "No possible way."

"I do tend to agree," said Bang.

"Guys…" said Fubuki, alarm bells going off in her head, sirens within her mind. She took a step towards Sycamore. "Cool it…"

"You should've lost," said Genos.

At Genos's words, the people assembled before Sycamore melted into black shapes, bleeding through the air until they filled the room with their inky forms. Sycamore took a step back as the dark beings approached, each one flickering within the room like the shadows cast by an enormous candle.

"You've lost," the shadows said in unison. "You have no place to run. You know this by now, don't you?"

Sycamore rubbed at his eyes as he closed them, stepping back into the kitchen away from the advancing shadows. When he opened his eyes, he saw Fubuki standing before him, her arms crossed but her eyes full of concern. It was as if she were split between being frustrated at the people before her but wanted to use her gaze alone to protect Sycamore.

"You ok?" asked Fubuki. "You stumbled back for a bit there."

"Fine, fine," said Sycamore. He straightened himself up and glared back over at the people assembled by the television. "Fine then, have fun losing Saitama, and all the rest of you cretins."

"It's alright Sycamore," said Secter. "It's only a game."

"Yeah yeah," said Sycamore. "Ugh, now my head hurts."

"Well we're about to eat," said Tatsumaki. "Maybe that'll help a bit."

"Feh, my appetite is dashed anyways," said Sycamore. "I'm…I'm going to step out for a bit, catch some fresh air."

"Oh," said Fubuki. "Alright."

 _Maybe I'll catch up with him if he stays out too long…_ she thought. _Or…I don't know, maybe sis and Secter are right to give him a little space. I'll…let him breathe._

Sycamore gave the trio in front of him a small nod before heading over to the front door. He opened the door and left the house, shutting it behind him. When he was outside, streetlights reflecting off of his tailored suit, he sighed.

 _As if any of these people actually enjoy my company…_ he thought. _Ah…why should I care about any of this. The plan…the plan is what I have to stick to! It has never left me down! But I should…just take care not to harm any of them unless it is absolutely necessary…which I truly doubt. They have…shown kindness to me. Especially…_

He glanced over at Fubuki.

 _Her,_ he thought. _Will make sure she doesn't get hurt in the crossfire that I'm sure is to come._

Sycamore's shoulders sagged as he leaned against the side of the house. From inside, he could hear the sounds of dishes being plopped onto the kitchen table and laughter. When the food was beginning to be served, Sycamore made his way back into the streets.

 _Time to go home,_ he thought.


	12. Chapter 12

"Honestly have no idea where Sycamore could've gone," said Secter as he walked with Tatsumaki back towards their house. "Probably back to his hotel."

"Yeah, good thing Fubuki texted him," said Tatsumaki. "He seemed…off. You…you don't think he has his own monster, right?"

Secter winced at the comment as he walked, the wind ruffling his shaggy hair.

"It's…possible," said Secter. "Don't know why he would though, but on the other hand, no one really knows how those damned things work. He did seem off however, maybe he saw something we didn't. Hallucinations were big amongst Soulless too."

"Huh," said Tatsumaki. "Well even still, glad he came around, even if he wasn't entirely friendly."

"Yeaaaah," said Secter. "Truth be told, him getting yelled at was partially my fault. I let him use his powers to sabotage King because I thought it could give Saitama a little morale boost, but Saitama didn't fall for it."

"Seriously?" asked Tatsumaki. "You really thought that would work?"

"He just seemed down, ok?" asked Secter. "And lord knows I can't beat King without cheating at this point, so I wanted him to see someone who could. But…Saitama caught on, didn't even question it."

"That doesn't surprise me. Although that is so like you. Always trying to look out for everyone."

"I try. Though I haven't been doing that great a job lately."

Tatsumaki wrapped her arms around Secter's sides, stopping him mid-walk.

"You have been doing a great job to me," said Tatsumaki. "Even if Sycamore is tough to get through…you've still helped. And of course, you always make me feel good."

"Yeah, and I'll love to make you feel _real_ good tonight," said Secter. He nudged Tatsumaki with his arm while leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. "God Tatsu, I want what we have to last forever."

"I don't want anyone else," said Tatsumaki, her eyes shining as she looked up at Secter. "I love you so much, I'll be with you forever."

"I'll definitely be around for that long," said Secter, chuckling.

Tatsumaki's face contorted from love to sadness in a dark swoop.

"Oh…" said Tatsumaki. "That reminds me."

"Hmm?"

Tatsumaki's house was in sight now, the front door illuminated white by the moon up above.

"You…are immortal," said Tatsumaki. "In terms of aging. I guess I didn't think about it too much, since you were always in danger of getting hurt or killed, but that reminded me…"

"Oh," said Secter. "Yeah. I tend not to think about it either, since it's such a weird shift for me, and hasn't really been something for me to worry about yet…"

"But…if this all turns out ok, and Sycamore calms himself and turns around, and we just live happily together…you'll outlive me."

Secter's heart plummeted to his stomach. It boiled down there, his legs refusing to move for a second as he contemplated a life of old age without his beloved Tatsu. He swallowed down a rising lump in his throat.

"Yeah…" he said. "I would. And…it would hurt me bad to see you go, even if we were old and happy. I…didn't really plan ahead that far, but if it ever got to something like that, I don't know if I'd want to go on. Not just because you were gone, although that'd be the main reason, but because I don't really want to live for as long as a Soulless. From what I hear from them, immortality kinda sucks. It's why they made absorption, or at least part of the reason."

"But I would want you to keep going…"

"I know, I know, but it's just…not all that normal for a human to live that long. I just want to live a normal, happy life with you, grow old with you, have so many happy memories with you…"

Tatsumaki pulled Secter into her front yard as the two came to a stop near the house. She tugged at the back of his neck to pull his face into hers, and she kissed him as the moonlight washed over the house behind them. As they pulled apart, Tatsumaki kissed Secter on one cheek, then the other. He smiled at her, his face and chest warm.

"I want to too," said Tatsumaki. "I _love_ the idea of us being happy together for so long. I want to make so many memories with you Secter, I want to live with you, and be with you, and maybe even marry you one day…"

Secter's face turned bright red, more of astonishment than embarrassment.

"I didn't even know you wanted to get married," said Secter.

"It's you," said Tatsumaki. "I think…that most people would just see it as such with the way we act to each other, but it's you. I wouldn't mind making it official."

"It's me, huh."

"That means…that I want you forever. That hopefully, you should know this by now. I love you more than anything in the world, and nothing will change that."

Secter looked down at Tatsumaki, a small smile on her face and her eyes gleaming with love. He knew there could be no one else for him, that Tatsumaki had stolen his heart long ago. His chest pounding, he reached down to Tatsumaki's lower back and lifted her up to his height, kissing her on the lips as her face reached his. Tatsumaki gasped with surprise as he lifted her, but giggled as Secter and her made out in front of her door.

"Sorry," said Secter in-between a bout of kissing. "I just wanted to do this, God I want you so much."

"Yes, yes," said Tatsumaki. "Inside! Inside!"

Secter kept Tatsumaki at face level as he pushed the door open, entering the house and kicking the door closed with his heel all the while kissing Tatsumaki and ruffling the back of her hair. Her eyes wild, Tatsumaki started to clutch at the back of Secter's head, a devious smile on her face.

"Couch," said Tatsumaki.

"Tatsu…" said Secter, his blood turning hot against his skin. "I'm going to rip those clothes off of you."

Tatsumaki smirked from ear to ear, pressing herself against Secter as she did so.

"Do it," she said.

Secter stumbled towards the couch, one arm on Tatsumaki's legs while the other caressed the back of her neck. Tatsumaki reached down Secter's shirt to massage his chest while keeping the other glued to the back of his head. Turning around, Secter collapsed onto the couch with Tatsumaki on top of him.

Tatsumaki's chest burned as she stared Secter down after pulling her lips away from his. Shooting an arm down to his belt, she ripped the metal prong out from its hole and tore Secter's pants down as he leaned up to kiss her on the neck. Secter took his other hand out from the bottom of Tatsumaki's legs and ran it up towards her waist, Tatsumaki letting out a small gasp as he did so.

"Right there," said Tatsumaki. "Right there."

His hand between her legs, Secter kept kissing Tatsumaki on the neck as she reached down into his pants. He twitched as Tatsumaki felt him up, the two of them smiling and kissing as they tore off what was left of their clothes. They made love as the moon rose and the shadows started to loom over all.

. . .

The sun crept over the horizon, causing Sycamore to squint as the light from his windows splashed over his eyes. Sneering, he grabbed a half-empty bottle of black bile from the top of his desk and chugged it, another third of the bottle rushing down his throat. His chest warming up and a grin on his face, Sycamore slammed the bottle back down onto the desk, shivering in his seat as he did so.

A knock came at his door. Sycamore twisted himself out of his seat and stumbled over to his entrance, ripping the door aside to see a startled Fubuki standing there. Sycamore chuckled and doubled over, his head facing the ground.

"Well well well what a pleasant surprise," said Sycamore. "Early in the morning, isn't it? And yet here you are."

"Uh," said Fubuki. "Yeah. I was just checking to make sure you were alright, you just kinda disappeared last night."

"Feh," said Sycamore. "No more alright than usual. Come in, come in."

Fubuki entered the suite after Sycamore, closing the door behind her as Sycamore returned to his desk and took another swig of his drink.

"Are you…drunk?" asked Fubuki. "Your breath does kinda reek."

"Mildly," said Sycamore. He chuckled, burping at the end of his laughter. "I had a nice stash of this stuff back in my ship and brought it over." He opened a drawer near the bottom of his desk and sifted around in it. "Got some medical supplies too, always have some on me, and of course my good ol pistol…"

Fubuki approached the desk, every footstep laced with caution.

"So…why did you leave?" she asked. "Was it about Saitama and everyone calling you a cheater?"

"Sure, sure," said Sycamore. "You know Fubuki, I've been meaning to say something to you, and I think now is the time."

"Go on…"

"You and your sister and Secter are full of shit."

"What?" asked Fubuki. Ice filled her veins, the very notion of Sycamore throwing everything away turning her heart into a beating freezer.

"Always talking, always analyzing," said Sycamore. "Yet you don't _see_. You can't just talk these problems away, I know what you're really trying to do…"

"Talking is a great first step," said Fubuki. "Believe me, I know what can happen if you leave emotions bottled inside for too long."

"Oh yes, oh yes, just talk it out. Ensnare poor ol Sycamore, show him how's he's always wrong!" Sycamore chuckled as he laid his hands over his desk. "I know what I am to you, a case, a problem to be solved, nothing more. I can see, I'm not blind even though…I'm not blind."

"No," said Fubuki. "It's not like that. Like…yes, you've caused problems, but I don't see _you_ as one. Like I said, I wanted you to change, get closer to you, just so you can relax…"

Sycamore took a deep breath, his hand curling around his bottle of bile.

"I don't think so," said Sycamore. "Pushing all this change shit onto me, like it's so damned easy. And out of nowhere it came, or felt like it did…"

"We've talked before," said Fubuki. "Sycamore, I promise I don't see you like a case or something, it's not like that-"

"Ohhhhh yes it is. It's to make yourself feel better, you mentioned it before. You look up to Secter, and your sister, and you want to be more like them." Sycamore swayed his head from side to side after almost every word he said, doing little more but making him dizzier and pissing Fubuki off. "Help that poor little man Sycamore and suddenly you're a good person too! Everyone can change, fuck what Sycamore thinks! Who cares what he experienced or thought, just push him right over, ignore all he said, all of what he values…"

Fubuki's face was pale, burning white with rage.

"It's not that!" she shouted. "I…I get it, ok?! I went too fast, I get that I came off as ingenuine. I…guess I was kind of scared myself, and in some ways I could even relate to you, but I truly do want to be a friend to you, want to see you feel better and not be so afraid…"

"Then treat me like you would anyone else," said Sycamore. "Treat me normally, how you actually would."

"I…"

"Because if you did that, I'll bet you wouldn't be anywhere as kind. Perhaps not even near me."

Sycamore's head was swimming, and he grinned something stupid at the points he was making. He still had it, he was winning once again, even despite the fact he was getting drunk! What a fantastic feeling. Meanwhile, defeat was seeping into Fubuki's heart, her spirits going dark. She already had to get up early to check in on Sycamore, how could he just ignore everything she was doing? Then again, to have come from such a brutal place, and to go so quickly, perhaps she really wasn't genuine. Perhaps this was all for her…

 _No,_ she thought. _This isn't like that. I do want to help, this isn't just for me, it's for Sycamore and everyone else. Just have to…calm myself a bit, my head's already hurting._

"Listen," said Fubuki. She wished she had a chair to sit on, so she opted to use the table as a leaning spot instead, both hands placed firmly on the smooth surface. "I get that you're suspicious. And if you want me to…take it slower, just calm myself a bit, then that's fine. I'll be…ugh, I just…I don't know what you want from me, are you always going to be suspicious of me? No matter what I do?"

Sycamore placed a hand to his chin.

"Somewhat," he said. "But maybe with time…you know, I do appreciate what you've done, I do think you are a kind soul, and should things go bad with Blast or anyone else, I'll make sure neither you nor your sister or Secter get hurt. Unless God forbid, Secter tries to shoot me."

"He won't fucking shoot you!"

"We'll see how it goes."

Fubuki pushed herself away from the desk so violently that it shuddered right into Sycamore. He let out a little grunt as it bumped into him, more amused than annoyed.

"This is what I'm talking about," said Fubuki. "You see why I was afraid? More willing to try and help you-"

Fubuki stopped dead short. Sycamore was grinning from one side of his face to the other.

"Oh?" he said. "I told you, you weren't genuine. You did it out of fear, for yourself and your friends, not out of much kindness or fondness for me."

Fubuki's head felt like it were about to explode into a million scalding hot pieces. She grabbed her waist, squeezing her fingers into her skin until it turned red and hurt from the pressure.

 _Just…calm down,_ she thought. _He has a point, but calm down._

Fubuki let out a sigh and dropped her hands.

"I want to sit," she said.

"Alright," said Sycamore. "Let's take it to the couch."

Fubuki crossed her arms as she watched Sycamore shamble up from his seat and walk over to the side of the desk. From the look of him, making it to the couch was going to feel like a marathon.

"You need some help?" she asked.

"Eh," he said, swallowing. "I'm fine."

He took a step forward and already began to stumble a bit, barely correcting himself as he half-walked, half-tripped towards the couch. Fubuki shook her head and strode forward, reaching an arm around Sycamore's back and straightening him up. She led him to the couch, only letting go of him when he collapsed down onto the cushions. Fubuki spun around and sat next to him, raising an eyebrow as Sycamore gazed off at the ceiling high above.

"Thaaaanks," he murmured.

"You're really drunk, aren't you?" asked Fubuki.

"Eh," said Sycamore. "Bit tipsy."

"Are you even going to remember anything we say here?"

"I'll remember Fubuki. I have a very good memory."

"Is that right."

"Oh sure," said Sycamore. "Hell, I remember years ago, back during a victory party after some battle during the war, who the hell cares what the fighting was about for that battle, but anyways, my friends and I were getting kind of drunk, we had our own little camp, and a real lax officer, so we got it in our heads to start making snowballs with our power…"

Sycamore started snickering. Fubuki smiled, oddly enthralled by Sycamore's little laugh.

"And uh, there was another half of the squad, poor bastards were still sleeping," said Sycamore. "And we run over and we just pelt the poor guys. Most of them didn't even deserve it, and they were _pissed._ Ah God, we should've gotten into so much trouble, but then they started making their own and tossed them at us, and ugh, it was a big old mess."

"Is that right," said Fubuki. "And you didn't get into trouble? I'd be angry if I was woken up like that."

"Funny thing is," said Sycamore. "Our antics actually brought the attention of an enemy patrol, bunch of tired looking bastards, probably been out looking for days, being shot at every hour. And when they saw us, they just dropped their guns and surrendered immediately. Thirty minutes later, they were drinking along with us and singing songs and throwing more of those stupid snowballs too."

Sycamore chuckled as he leaned back into the couch. Fubuki raised a few fingers to her lips, pleased by the story.

"Ahh," said Sycamore. "One of my best memories of the war, one of my only few happy ones of that place. But uh, anyways, where were we?"

"Oh," said Fubuki. "Sorry, I was just listening to your story. Uh, something about me treating you normally."

"Right," said Sycamore, smiling at Fubuki's more lighthearted expression. "Yes, that. Just…that's all I ask, I suppose. You coming on so strong made me nervous, you touching me made me more so. It's not that I dislike you being kind, it's just…I had reasons to be suspicious, you know? Even if you could relate to me, I still feel like you're on a different world, if that makes sense. And if I'm going to change, it'll be something _I_ decide, not you. For now, I'm…ok, for the most part. Bit of doubt here and there, bit of guilt ever so often, but we'll see how it goes."

"I…" said Fubuki. She sighed, dropping her hand to her lap. "I won't push you. I'll…try to act normal I guess, even if you're always kind of suspicious of me."

"Ahhh it's not all suspicion. Like I said, you're a kind person in my eyes, and maybe…maybe you do see me as a potential friend for one reason or another. I just had my doubts, you know?"

"I get it. You…you were scared too."

"Everyone's fucking scared," said Sycamore. "I'm sure most of it is my fault."

Silence. Fubuki stared down at her lap, her hands folded over layers of velvety fabric while Sycamore gazed at the roof, his drunken high starting to slide away.

"It'll get better," said Fubuki. "It'll be ok."

"Think so, huh."

"Yeah," said Fubuki. "And sorry for you know, touching you the other day. Didn't know it would make you nervous."

"It's fine really, I just didn't expect it."

"You got all shaky."

"Yeah…"

Fubuki smiled again, feeling devious this time. Sycamore noticed her look and turned away, back to his lap.

"So," he said. "You just came here to check on me?"

"To make sure you were ok," said Fubuki. "I wanted to give you some space after you left the house, but you know, I didn't know you had totally gone away all the back home. Until you texted me back that is, but even then you didn't say much and I got kind of worried."

"You worry too much. I'm fine, really. Just…got a little heated."

"But it's calm now."

"The alcohol helps."

"It's…like eight in the morning though."

"Yeah, I'm not always the healthiest individual. But hey, I get the feeling today is going to be a big day, so I decided to have a little drink."

"It's Blast, isn't it?"

"He'll make a move soon I'll bet. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but soon…"

"Ugh."

"Yep."

Fubuki leaned further into the couch, unsure of what else to say. She felt pity for Sycamore, all while being intrigued by him as well.

"You know," said Fubuki. "Maybe we should try another get-together sometime, maybe this time me, maybe my group of friends, Secter and sis perhaps…"

"Hmm…"

"And it can be a place of your choosing."

Sycamore clasped his hands together, a big smile on his face.

"Oh that might be nice," he said. "Just to unwind a bit. Been feeling stressed lately, a nice little batch of drinks for everyone might cool that off! Just no fucking talk about changing or everyone ganging up to tell me how I should've lost, please. We all just relax for a bit. Maybe…I can start to appreciate everyone more and more that way. Perhaps."

"It could be nice," said Fubuki. She chuckled at Sycamore's beaming face. "I like how excited you get over entertaining people."

"If they're people I like being around or at least am ok with," said Sycamore. "Then I certainly don't mind being host!"

Fubuki put a hand near her lips. Her spirits were rising along with Sycamore's happiness, and Sycamore was beginning to tell. He smiled sheepishly at her, shuffling back towards the end of his couch and wrapping an arm around a dull green pillow.

"But for now," said Sycamore. "I think I might take a nap or something. Alcohol's getting to my head."

"You're going to wake up with a headache, is what's going to happen," said Fubuki.

"Ahhhh whatever," said Sycamore. "It'll be fine."

"You want me to get you some aspirin or something? Would that even work on you?"

"It wouldn't unless it was the Soulless kind, and no thanks, I'm good. Thanks…for asking though I guess."

Fubuki gave a little nod.

"This was kind of nice," said Sycamore. "More casual talk, is what I was talking about. Just…I get what you want, but just let me stretch out a bit. I know you're concerned, but I can tell you things will pan out just fine for you and your friends. What…happens after the monsters are gone is what happens, but for now, things will be fine."

"They'll be fine huh," said Fubuki, not fully convinced.

"Sure," said Sycamore. "If you guys can withstand all the stuff you've gone through, Secter with that last Soulless or whatever, you with your group, and Tatsumaki with the lab and so on, then surely you can figure out whatever ends up happening."

"Wait," said Fubuki, shooting up in her seat. "Hold on. How do you know about the lab?"

"Oh," said Sycamore. "Did Secter tell you nothing of our powers? I look into peoples' minds from time to time, did it with quite a few people before I got here, I can see your memories with your sis, although Secter and anything with him is blurry as per usual."

"Stop…stop looking into my head!" yelled Fubuki.

"Don't worry," said Sycamore, raising his hands forward as if in a desperate attempt to push away some rampaging rhinoceros coming right for him. "I didn't look through all that much, and I certainly don't look at…you know, more personal stuff. I just did it to get some info on people before I got here and during-"

"Please. Do not. Look into my head."

"I won't, I won't. Sorry about all that. Some people I felt it necessary though, like Blast, Saitama…"

"Blast?" asked Fubuki. "And Saitama… What did you see about Blast?"

"He's a bitch," said Sycamore. "He's going to get a smackdown soon, him and his buddies if they act up."

"You think it'll come to a fight?" asked Fubuki. "That we won't be able to stop him by talking or something?"

"Oh he plans to confront me," said Sycamore. "He's itching for a fight, I'm sure." Sycamore sighed as he leaned over his pillow, shaking his head but smiling all the same. "And if I have to give him a little shove, then I will. Not him, nor his little group will take me down, no group will bring me low ever again…"

"We can all handle this," said Fubuki. "Seriously, there's no need for you to fight them, they're not a threat to you."

"You may be right," said Sycamore. He giggled as he leaned back over his desk. "Ultimately, me deciding to smack some people around won't affect the outcome I predict..."

"What outcome?!" asked Fubuki. "You're starting to make me nervous again."

"Look, it's nothing that's fully on me," said Sycamore. "Just…keep your head down, we might just see some true sides of heroes soon."

"Ugh," said Fubuki. "I still don't get what you mean by this. If you mean Blast being a prick, then that's one thing, and you're right, but the way that you talk about whatever is coming almost makes it seem like you planned it."

"I just predicted it, is all. And besides, it might happen today, it might not…"

 _Oh if I go out, it'll happen today,_ thought Sycamore. _Fubuki is probably going to try and get involved, things just get trickier and trickier…ah well. I'm sure I can handle all the fools who reveal their true sides, and as humanity starts to go nuts, maybe we'll all find a nice little spot away from it. Besides, it's not like any of this was my fault, now was it? Well, the joblessness yes, but the actions of the heroes not so much…_

"I just want things to be ok," said Fubuki. "And so does sis, and Secter. I don't like the way you're talking."

"Just relax my dear Fubuki," said Sycamore. "Everything will be fine. All will go as I think it will, and while things may get rough for a while, I'm sure it'll turn out ok."

"You won't even tell me what you predicted."

"I've mentioned it," said Sycamore. "But like I said, just don't worry too much, it doesn't really concern you by now. Let's just…as you said, relax for a moment, let things go normally."

"Well now I can't," said Fubuki. "Just…stay safe, alright Sycamore? Don't go riling people up please, and don't feel like we're trying to attack you. I…you're right, I want everyone to relax, but that includes you too."

Sycamore pulled his lips inwards. His heart hurt, if only for a second, at the poor woman besides him. Like her, he too was beginning to feel pity, a bit of shame for having frightened her again. Perhaps she really did just want to be a friend, even for as difficult as it was even now for him to believe. His body felt like it was being torn in too many directions, to his own ideals, which seemed so right, to Fubuki, who was reaching so far…

"I'll be fine," he said. "Thanks."

"Well…good," said Fubuki. "But maybe you're starting to understand why I wanted you to think about changing, even if just a bit…"

Sycamore grumbled and shook his head.

"Enough with that," he said. "Listen, I think I'm gonna take a nap. I'll see you later Fubuki, I…did enjoy this talk."

"I did too," she said. "I guess I'll see you then."

She got up from the couch, her mind a storm of worry. Every step towards the door felt like a march to a battlefield, uncertain, terrifying, and full of chaos. And then…

Something hit her in the back, soft yet cold. It exploded across her spine, gently dousing a small part of her dress in an icy liquid. Fubuki stiffened before spinning back around, her eyes narrowed but a smile spreading across her face.

"Did you just-" she said.

Sycamore flashed a tiny smile at her, still slumped over the end of the couch. Fubuki crossed her arms under her chest.

"That's not fair," said Fubuki. "I can't even counter with anything."

"That's too bad," said Sycamore. "Guess you lose this round."

Fubuki smiled wider, looking around for any way to get back at him. As Sycamore started to lean his head against the end of the couch, eyes half-closed, she thought of something.

With a wave of her hand, a pillow came flying off the other end of Sycamore's couch and crashed right into his face, implanting itself across his features. Sycamore wasn't surprised by the attack, but let the pillow collide into him instead. He took a breath, his mouth filling with the fabric of the pillow, before grasping it further into his face and sliding down the couch.

"I was going to do this anyways," he said. "Helps me sleep."

"Uh huh," said Fubuki.

"Good night Fubuki."

"It's morning."

"Good morning Fubuki."

Fubuki chuckled again and turned around to head towards the door. She felt alright, not sure of where things were to go but was all too aware of the burning feeling in the pit in her stomach. Mumen needed to be alerted if need be, Blast would have to be confronted. And Sycamore was alright, he was fun, but he needed more time to adjust. There would have to be a way avoid a fight.

She stepped out into the hallway, and closed Sycamore's door behind him. Meanwhile, Sycamore found sleep failing to come to him as he stared into the fine details of the pillow.

. . .

Sycamore clutched at his head as he wandered down the street, the sun beating down his back as a swarm of businesspeople passed him by to head to a nearby café for their lunch break.

 _Ugh,_ thought Sycamore. _Fubuki was right, I was drunker than I thought. Gonna have this damned headache all day now…fucking hell, I need to be in my prime for this! Going to shut all these bastards down, and now I have a migraine. Perfect._

From above him, a small silver x-shaped robot flew along on four separate spinning blades, hovering above Sycamore's position as he walked up a street. Sycamore paid it no mind, already having grinned at the robot when he first spotted it flying above the entrance to his hotel earlier in the day. Sycamore kept his pace, smirking to himself as he pushed his way past crowds of staring people. Whispers of his name could be heard amongst passersby, and many stopped their walks to pull out their phones to take a picture of the shadowy being in a suit. Sycamore never looked at any of them, the only thing catching his attention being Saitama's house as he passed by it.

 _Bet he's still sleeping,_ thought Sycamore. _Wonder if he'll even show, that lazy bastard. Will certainly make things complicated if he does, wonder who he'll side with anyways…_

Sycamore laughed to himself, looking like a madman in the street.

 _As if that makes any fuckin difference,_ thought Sycamore. _Rest easy Saitama, there's a big day ahead of us all. Though I wonder…if he does fight, who will it be with? Would he go as far as to hurt someone? I do…hope Fubuki and Tatsumaki steer clear, though it would be difficult for them not to notice…ugh, Secter might show too, this is gonna get messy…_

Sycamore stopped dead in the street.

 _Just…make sure Fubuki and Tatsumaki turn out alright,_ he thought. _Secter too, though I'm sure he'll be fine. Ugh, not even I'm totally sure what's going to happen now with them in the mix, had someone asked me a couple weeks ago I could've told them for certain what would go down, but now when I think about it, it just hurts my head even more…_

Sycamore's mood dampened, his shoulders sagging as he reached the top of the street and walked into a clearing just before a wide swath of desert that separated two cities. Taking his first step into the sand, he heard the drone up above make a beeping sound before flying off into the horizon.

"That's their cue," said Sycamore. "Come on out now, anytime…"

A rustling sound behind him caused Sycamore to whip around, his chest brimming with both excitement but his heart pumping fear into his veins. He scanned the area, his eyes resting on a patchwork group of boards nailed to the top of Saitama's roof nearby.

 _Huh, wonder who could've done that,_ thought Sycamore.

A black doglike creature skittered out from the house nearest to Sycamore, drool dripping from its mouth as it sat down on the ground and peered up at him. Sycamore raised an eyeline.

"Is that a monster?" asked Sycamore. "Did I miss one?"

Another sound came from the opposite direction, this one the shuffling of a group rather than the pitter-patter of a dog. Sycamore turned towards the sound, his mouth opening in a gleeful smile as he spotted Blast, Atomic Samurai, Flashy Flash, Superalloy Darkshine, Drive Knight, Metal Knight, Metal Bat, and Sweet Mask all step out into the desert from a cluster of nearby buildings. They stood as a unit, Metal Knight bringing up the back as the sun shined off of his stainless armor.

Sycamore strode forward, the group within running distance. They stared him down as he walked, with Blast's glare so intense it competed with the sun's rays for attention. It only made Sycamore grin wider.

"There you all are," said Sycamore. "Watching me with your little drone, how cute. Oh, and Blast! What's going on here? You had to get help? Aww, you couldn't even get all of the S-class, how sad."

"Ignore him," said Blast. "We are here to confront you Sycamore, to make sure that you are not to do anything questionable now that the monsters are gone."

"Wow, you've even changed your tune eh," said Sycamore. "Or perhaps you're too afraid that you can't take me on."

"Ah, all of us together would beat your ass," said Metal Bat. "Easy."

"You sure?" asked Sycamore. "Because all I see is a sad little group, no longer able to function in their society around them, no longer sure of their place in society. So sad, that they pushed themselves to create a foe just because they have no more."

"We aren't here to fight," said Darkshine. "Only to make sure you'll behave."

"Honestly I've behaved better than most of the people in your group," said Sycamore. "But now I can do whatever I please, and you won't be able to stop me."

"Like what?" asked Drive Knight. "Do you plan on hurting anyone?"

"Who knows," said Sycamore. "I am more or less the master of this world after all…now I'm not saying I _would_ hurt anyone, but it's true that I could, now couldn't I?" Sycamore snickered at them.

 _Not a chance,_ thought Sycamore. _I don't have to do anything. But…just a little push towards this group might not be a bad idea, rile them up myself…_ He paused for a moment, his grin fading a little. _Am I…cheating here? No…no, they would attack me anyways, they plan to._

Blast narrowed his eyes.

 _He…hasn't brought anything up like that before,_ thought Blast. _Could this be his actual plan? To turn on humanity now that he thinks he has it in his wretched hands? No…_

Blast stared at Sycamore, who gave nothing away but joy through his grin.

 _He is…trying to rile them up,_ thought Blast. _Is he looking for a fight?_

Blast stiffened, his arms going numb at his sides and hanging down like noodles. He felt trapped, entangled in a deadly net to which any sudden movement would simply encourage his doom. For once, Blast felt fear.

 _If he is…_ thought Blast. _And I don't know if we can win…then perhaps I should make some noise, gather the attention of the most powerful people. If they see a fight going on, perhaps they will have no choice but to come… This could be humanity's last stand._

 _Go on Blast,_ thought Sycamore. _Make your move. Grab their attention._

"Oh you're not gonna hurt anyone ya prick," said Metal Bat. He ripped his bat out from behind his back and pointed at Sycamore, the tip glittering in the sun.

"You sound as if you are going to take more malicious action," said Metal Knight, his voice sounding more like a robotic old man's than one belonging to a metal behemoth.

"I mean, I could see how you all thought it would be tempting," said Sycamore. "To look for world domination once the competition was out of the way…hmm…how tempting indeed."

 _As fucking if,_ thought Sycamore. _I've got no interest in ruling over anyone._

Blast glanced back over at his group, rubbing at his forehead with a meaty hand to eradicate the sweat which formed a sheen over his head.

"I told you all," said Blast. "That Sycamore was not to be trusted."

"You're going to fight us?" asked Darkshine. "Is that your plan?"

"It's more up to you," said Sycamore. "You gonna try to be heroes, or are you gonna let the real hero do as he pleases?"

"You have made yourself an adversary of us," said Blast. "You will not be allowed to take over our world."

"Try and stop me," said Sycamore. "Or perhaps…you're too late, as per usual."

Blast sneered at Sycamore. Planting his feet into the ground, he rocketed up into the air, his cape billowing behind him as he came to a stop fifty feet above his group and Sycamore.

"Everyone stand back!" yelled Blast. "I'll destroy this being once and for all!"

"Oh shit, Blast's actually going to fight," said Metal Bat. "I gotta see this."

"I recommend retreating to the city until Blast finishes," said Drive Knight. "In other words, we run."

"Oh come on, is he really as powerful as he says-" said Atomic Samurai.

From above, a sphere of burning energy materialized above Blast's head, with Blast raising his hands to catch the ball of fire. Keeping it in his hands, he grunted as the sphere grew in size, white streaks of lightning crackling around its edges as the ball turned bright yellow. Flickering red flames clashed in sparkling battles all around the sphere as it grew to the size of a two-story building. The roofs of nearby buildings began to melt, and Metal Knight took a step back as he realized his shoulder pads were turning into molten steel.

"Oh," said Atomic Samurai. "Yeah, let's find some cover."

The group sprinted off in the opposite direction, hiding in the streets of a nearby city while they watched Blast ready his ball of destruction.

"We can stand here all day Blast!" said Sycamore. "Any day now!"

"You'll going to regret the day you came here!" yelled Blast. "Get the hell off of my planet!"

He tossed the ball down at the grinning alien below, his eyes narrowed as Sycamore stood in place.

 _If this doesn't kill him,_ thought Blast. _Then we will be in trouble. What the hell is your plan, you cretin? Why are you fighting? What could it-_

Blast's eyes widened just as the ball of energy shuddered towards next to Sycamore's head.

 _Humanity destroys itself…_ thought Blast. _What could it be… This…this creature better die from this._

Blast crossed his arms in the air as the sphere exploded around Sycamore. The world around him flashed white as the energy ball melted onto the ground below, erupting all around its impact point and shattering windows many miles away from the shock. Blast blinked as his vision went white, silently praying that his deed had been done.

. . .

Secter pulled his shirt off, the armpits of which were damp with sweat. Tossing it onto the floor, he picked out a new shirt from his dresser and headed off in the direction of the living room while putting his new shirt on. He could hear Tatsumaki shuffling around in the bathroom nearby, finishing up getting ready for the day. Making his way into the living room, he collapsed down on the couch as Tatsumaki exited the bathroom. Sniffing, Secter reached for the remote when he heard Tatsumaki from the bedroom.

"Secter!" she said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

Silence. Secter's eyes narrowed in confusion as his hand hovered over the remote. Pulling away from it, he turned to look over the couch, just in time to see Tatsumaki approaching him with a shirt with two damp stains in the armpits.

"Why," said Tatsumaki. "Do you leave. Your shirts. On the floor."

"Oh," said Secter. "Uh, I was going to pick that back up at some point-"

"You have both a dresser and a closet," said Tatsumaki. "And a dirty basket for dirty clothes!"

"Yeah I know I know," said Secter. "My bad."

"You know, part of the reason I wanted you to move out from your place was because it was a bit of a pigsty," said Tatsumaki. "Don't think that you can turn this place into one too."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Then don't leave your shirts on the floor! Especially if they smell!"

"Alright, alright."

"I know you're gonna forget again."

"I promise I won't," said Secter. "Well, I sorta promise. I will _try_ at least."

Tatsumaki shook her head, the green curls in her hair quivering along with her.

"Unbelievable," said Tatsumaki. "So, what do you want to do for to-"

An explosion sounded off far in the distance, loud enough for it to echo throughout the walls of the house but far enough to sound muffled. Secter jumped up from his seat, while Tatsumaki's grasp on the shirt slipped. It fell to the floor behind the couch, the two of them staring at the massive cloud of dust which they spotted through Tatsumaki's sliding glass door to the backyard. Despite it being miles away, the dust cloud was visible over the tops of buildings and mountains alike.

"What…the hell is that," said Secter.

"Is…is that Sycamore?" asked Tatsumaki.

"Why the hell would he do that?" asked Secter. His arms and legs began to shake while his eyes went wide.

 _No, no no no,_ thought Secter. _Sycamore, I swear to God if you've hurt anyone…_

"Or Blast!" said Tatsumaki. "That might be Blast!"

"Only one way to find out," said Secter. He looked down at Tatsumaki, who gave him a look of worry. Her eyes were pale and a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"We can figure this out," said Secter. "Together. We've got this."

"O-ok," said Tatsumaki. "Make sure to get your gun, just in case."

"Yeah, got it," said Secter. He rushed off in the direction of the bedroom.

Tatsumaki stood staring at the massive dust cloud, her chest tightening like a series of ropes over her heart. Placing a hand over her chest, she blinked away a rush of incoming tears and straightened herself up. Hands falling to her sides, she glared at the cloud in the distance.

 _We've got this,_ thought Tatsumaki. _We're a team. We won't let Sycamore, or Blast, or anyone else stop us. I'm not taking any of this shit anymore._

 _. . ._

Fubuki saw Mumen Rider polishing his bike across the park and she ran over to him, slivers of panic embedded in her brain. As she approached, her group ran forward from the side of her vision and blocked her, embracing her in a group hug.

"Miss Fubuki!" said Lily. "You're back! I didn't know you were going to the outing today-"

Fubuki wrapped her hands around the group members in front of her for a few seconds before tearing them back to her sides.

"Sorry guys, I really have to speak to Mumen!" said Fubuki as she pushed her way through the suited heroes.

Looks of confusion and concern were adorned on the group member's faces as they watched Fubuki approach Mumen Rider.

"Oh!" said Mumen Rider as Fubuki ran up, panting from the distance she had gone. "Hello Fubuki, what can I do for you?"

"I…" said Fubuki. "I talked with Sycamore earlier this morning, and I was looking for you. Took me a couple of hours to actually find this place, you guys really need better directions."

"I think this event was invite-only," said Mumen Rider. He gave Fubuki a small wink. "But I let any nearby heroes participate. Don't tell Accel."

"It's Sycamore," said Fubuki. "I'm really worried about what's going to happen with him and Blast, I think they're going to try and fight or something and I might need some backup to try and talk everyone down."

"Now?" asked Mumen Rider. He jumped up from polishing the undercarriage of his bike, his eyes wide behind his goggles. "I…I didn't know it was going to happen now!"

"I don't know exactly when," said Fubuki. "He said maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but I get the feeling he's planning for it very soon…"

Fubuki's group clustered around the two.

"What…what do we do?" asked Lily. "We can't fight either of them, can we?"

"I doubt that," said Mumen Rider. "But we are here to preserve peace and justice, and this fight would be highly dangerous and destructive, let alone unnecessary."

"I don't know if your group could stand up to Blast," said Fubuki. "But maybe you could try to help him see reason while I talked to Sycamore."

Mumen Rider frowned.

"I don't like the idea of you talking to Sycamore by yourself, especially if he's ready to fight," said Mumen Rider. "Let me call Accel and assemble the members of the group, maybe we can figure something out-"

In the distance, an explosion roared its way to life. Shards of glass darted out from windows in the buildings all around the park, threatening to shower all those down below with clear sharp daggers of window panes. Fubuki raised her hands as the buildings around the group shuddered, watching as all of the glass that was flung towards their position stopped in mid-air. Glaring at the hovering glass, Fubuki waved her hand to the side and the glass formed a crystal snake in the sky, slithering its way through the air into a trashcan across the street.

"Wow…" said Lily. "You're amazing, Miss Fubuki!"

"Yes, thanks!" said Mumen Rider. "But what on earth was that explosion?"

From above, a mushroom cloud of dirt and dust billowed over the nearby buildings, coating everything in a sea of brown. Mumen Rider squinted at the incoming wave of soot.

"That…that could be them," he said. "I need to call Accel now! Everyone, find some cover and grab as many group members as you can! We'll need to find out where this fight is taking place, and fast!"

Fubuki nodded, running off with her group in tow. They ran to various areas of the park, relaying the information to the heroes scattered all around the area. Many of the heroes they approached bolted in the opposite direction after they heard who the combatants causing the ruckus were. A few, including a man with silver hair jutting out of his grey hoodie and his face half obscured by the hood over his head and the angle in which he held his gaze, agreed to help Fubuki confront the fighters with a silent nod.

With as many people gathered in tow as she could find, Fubuki led the motley group of assorted heroes, consisting of her group, the man in a hoodie, a woman with chains for arms and her husband, along with a few others, back over to Mumen Rider. While Mumen Rider briefed them on the situation, Fubuki turned away from the people before her and called her sister, walking a few paces away as the other conversed.

"Hello?" asked Tatsumaki. "Sis?"

"Sis!" said Fubuki. "Are you alright? Where's Secter?"

"I'm fine," said Tatsumaki. "And he's fine too, he's here with me at the house."

"Did you see what was going on?"

"I saw the dust. Secter and I are going to…check it out."

"Are you sure?"

A sigh emanated forth from the other end of the line.

"I'm tired of being afraid and hiding," said Tatsumaki. "You two are right, we need to confront this problem head on if we really want to beat it. Whatever the hell is going on out there, I'm done with avoiding it."

"It's Sycamore and Blast," said Fubuki. "I guarantee it. I just talked to Sycamore a couple of hours ago, and he hinted that Blast was probably coming to fight him with his group."

"Are you serious?" asked Tatsumaki. "Fucking Blast! Ugh…"

"I'm getting with Mumen's group to see if we can ease things a bit," said Fubuki. "Maybe convince the other S-class to not help Blast." Fubuki's hands shook as she held the phone to her ear, her heart racing around in her chest in an endless loop of palpitations.

"Just…just be careful," said Tatsumaki. "Or better yet, wait for Secter and I to get there. And Saitama too, if anyone can reach him."

"I can try," said Fubuki. "And you guys better come quick, my group and Mumen's are going to head out soon I'll bet."

"We're on our way. God…I hope this goes well."

"From the sounds of it, it will be Sycamore and Blast versus everyone else," said Fubuki. "And we've gotten Sycamore to see reason before…I want him to be alright, he's more caring and soft than he seems, but I'm afraid he'll think that we're all attacking him or are against him if we're not cautious."

"Then we'll be careful," said Tatsumaki. "Even if I am getting sick of him claiming he has to be right all the time…"

"Just be careful," said Fubuki. "I'll see you soon."

"See you," said Tatsumaki. "And sis?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't go this alone. You have us, and all your friends."

"I won't," said Fubuki,

"Good. I'll see you."

"See you."

Fubuki hung up her phone and returned back to the group, who were joined by Accel and several former Neo Heroes as Mumen Rider gave his instructions on what to do next.


	13. Chapter 13

Sycamore chuckled up at a shocked Blast. Standing in the midst of an earthy crater longer and wider than the size of a football field, Sycamore crossed his arms over his chest, not even his suit showing any signs of damage.

"How," said Blast as he hovered down towards the ground. "How?!"

Sycamore shook his head. In an instant, the ground reappeared beneath him, soil and grass popping into sight from nowhere. Within seconds, it was as if the crater had never existed at all.

"You…" said Blast. "You…"

Sycamore let out a contented sigh.

"Oh that was great," said Sycamore. "Gave me a nice suntan."

From behind him, a dog barked. Sycamore turned around to see the same black dog watching him from behind the ruins of a nearby house. A section was missing out Saitama's home as well, one of the few buildings close enough to the explosion to receive some of the impact from it. Glancing back at the dog, Sycamore's scrunched his face in confusion.

"What the fuck?" asked Sycamore. "How? You must be a monster."

The door to Saitama's entrance fell apart as Saitama pushed it down. His eyes were slim, and as he turned, Sycamore could feel the rage radiating off of the bald hero as if he were having a nuclear meltdown of pure rage. Striding down the street towards Sycamore, Saitama kept his hands balled into fists, his t-shirt and sweatpants full of holes where bits of wood and glass had torn their way through. A few seconds later Genos emerged from the house to follow Saitama, his white shirt also the victim of various bits of shrapnel. Standing to Sycamore's side, Saitama glared over at Blast, who had made his way down to the ground with mouth agape.

"Blast did this," said Sycamore, pointing right at the culprit.

"You…you prompted me to!" said Blast.

"Oh don't be an idiot, you were going to do that anyways," said Sycamore. "And now look, you've woken the sleeping baldy."

"I was eating lunch," said Saitama. "Now my sandwich has wood in it, and there's even more holes in my house than before." Saitama gave a smile at Blast, filled to the brim with malice. "That's the second hole you've made in my house Blast."

"You will not get away with this," said Genos. "You do not get to damage Saitama's home, whether he does nothing in it or not."

"Thanks for the support Genos," said Saitama.

The dog barked at Sycamore again. Sycamore grumbled.

"So," said Saitama. "Looks like you got some friends Blast?"

The followers of Blast emerged from the nearby city to survey the damage. Metal Bat raised an eyebrow at the ground around Sycamore.

"I…" said Blast. The man was rooted to the spot, unable to find the words to keep going.

"And you're trying to fight Sycamore…right next to my house," said Saitama. "Did you even bother to make sure that there was no one in the surrounding buildings?"

"My attacks are controlled enough to avoid that!" said Blast. "Minor injuries at most!" He snarled at Saitama, prompting Genos to step next to the man with several holes in his house and shirt.

"And besides," continued Blast. "That's not important. What's important is that Sycamore has threatened to take over the world!"

"What?" asked Saitama. "Really? He never mentioned that before."

"Eh, not really my goal," said Sycamore. "Made it up."

The heroes who had come back to join Blast stood around him in a half-circle, each one more confused than the last.

"So…you're not going to take over the world?" asked Darkshine.

"No, but that of course won't stop Blast from trying to kill me," said Sycamore. "Just look at him, he's hoping Saitama will do it right now."

"You are a threat to all mankind!" shouted Blast. "You have to be destroyed, you've just proven that!" A stream of spit flew forth from Blast's mouth and splattered onto Sycamore's shoulder. His grin turning into a wrinkled frown, Sycamore brushed the saliva off of him just as the dog at his back barked at him again.

"Alright that's it," said Sycamore. "For one, that thing's a monster, and for two, it's annoying me. Have fun living in a space kennel, little shit." Turning around, Sycamore pointed a finger in the air parallel to the dog. Several grey columns of metal, each a few feet in length, appeared into existence around the dog. As it barked, the columns snapped together in a cluster around the dog, and at the waving of Sycamore's hand towards the sky, the metal trap flew off into the clouds and out of sight.

"Master, isn't that the neighbor's dog?" asked Genos.

"Uh, yeah, it is," said Saitama. "Kind of a dick move Sycamore."

"I will retrieve it!" said Genos. "With my speed upgrades, it should only take but a few seconds!" Genos crouched down before rocketing up into the air, flames shooting out from his feet and palms as he turned into a speck in the sky.

"Oh for the love of-" yelled Saitama after his cyborg companion. "Genos!"

The cyborg was like a raisin in the clouds, a black dot amongst the air.

"How long will it take for him to catch up to that thing?" asked Saitama.

"You better go get him," said Sycamore, watching as Genos flew out of sight. "He's not getting that thing anytime soon."

"Ugh," said Saitama. "All of you, just wait right here! I'll be back."

Saitama burst into the air, rocks and dust exploding out from where he began his flight. As he tore his way through the clouds, Secter and Tatsumaki reached the top of the hill near where Sycamore was, Secter's eyes trained on Saitama as he faded from view.

"Was that…Saitama?" asked Secter.

"Yep," said Sycamore. "I'm sure he'll be back. Also…hello to you two, guess I should've figured you'd show up after that display."

Tatsumaki and Secter stopped a few feet short of Sycamore, both of them eying him with suspicion. Her arms folded over the front of her black dress, Tatsumaki took a step forward and started to speak, but Sycamore cut her off.

"Blast did this," said Sycamore. "Trying to kill me, as usual."

As Sycamore finished his sentence, a group of heroes emerged from the nearby streets, walking past buildings and surveying the damage done. Fubuki and Mumen Rider spearheaded the group, tiptoeing their way around piles of rubble and glass before making it to the edge of the desert where everyone else stood.

"Oh," muttered Sycamore. "I am glad to see you and your group Mumen, but of course Fubuki and her friends have to be here too…ugh, I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Mumen Rider glanced over at Blast and the heroes who surrounded him. Accel strode to the front of Mumen Rider's group next to Fubuki and did the same.

"And here you are, causing trouble," said Accel. "Fighting Sycamore, I see?"

"He threatened to take over the world," said Blast. "He is leading humanity down a path which it cannot recover from."

"I've made the world far safer, to be honest…" said Sycamore.

"You all saw!" said Blast. "He took that attack like it was nothing! This being has to be contained, or destroyed!"

"So you have no intention of taking over the planet," said Drive Knight. "You lied to us, for what reason?"

"To get a group audience," said Sycamore. "Honestly, it was more to rile Blast up more than anything. He was going to toss that fireball at me regardless."

"He lied to you now, he could be lying again!" said Blast. "He's heavily outnumbered now, he could just be scared!"

"He seems pretty tough," said Metal Bat. "But maybe you're right, combined we could take em."

"No!" said Mumen Rider. "Enough is enough. We do not need to fight here, there's no reason for it!"

"You just saw the reason!" said Blast. "This being is manipulative, horrifically powerful, we know next to nothing about him, all he did was come from space and claim he was going to destroy the monsters, then claimed humankind would destroy itself!"

"The hell is your deal?" asked Metal Bat to Sycamore. "What are you playing at?"

"Oh nothing, nothing," said Sycamore. "Just here to help. Of course, I'm surprised that the so-called lesser heroes-" He gestured to Mumen Rider and his group. "Are the ones being truly heroic here. Or maybe…Blast and his compatriots have the right idea. What will it be then, who are the real heroes?"

"Well, obviously we're in the right," said Blast. "We have every reason to confront you."

"There is no need for violence!" said Mumen Rider. "A fight with Sycamore could destroy the earth!"

"Sycamore alone could do that!" said Blast. "There's no telling what he could do!" His last phrase dripped with fear, and Tatsumaki's eyes widened at the sound of it.

 _He really is afraid,_ thought Tatsumaki. _They all are._

"There is truth to this," said Metal Knight. "Now that Sycamore has defeated the monsters, there seems to be little reason for him to stay."

"Maybe we should contain him," said Atomic Samurai. "He was trying to start a fight a minute ago, this guy's unstable."

"I like how you talk about me as if I'm not even here," said Sycamore. "But do go on."

 _Well, I didn't picture the conflict to be all about me,_ thought Sycamore. _But I guess the end result is more or less the same. Their fault too really, for being so irrational. Guess that's just a product of them losing their livelihoods, so desperate to prove that they're still oh so heroic._

"We will contain him," said Blast. "Everyone here will join us in a joint effort, Sycamore is a threat to us all."

"No," said Mumen Rider.

"You're worthless anyways," said Blast.

"No offense Mumen, but I don't think you'd be able to do much," said Darkshine.

Mumen Rider gritted his teeth at Darkshine, who held his hands up to chest height in faux surrender.

"Listen everyone!" said Fubuki. "There's no need to fight, Sycamore's just testing you, he's not going to-"

"Oh this is beyond even that Fubuki," said Sycamore, still displeased at the fact she was even there. "This is about who is right, and who is _wrong._ Who are the real heroes here then eh? Those who want to protect humankind for the future, or those who want to take a risk in the present? A shame things had to go down this way, but it's just how it is."

"We can talk this out," said Mumen Rider.

"Sycamore, tell them you're not going to do anything evil," said Secter. "Tell them what you're really playing at."

"There is nothing to play," said Sycamore, his grin stretching from one end of his face to the other. "Only two groups, one more right than the other…"

A man in a grey hoodie stepped forwards towards the front of Mumen Rider's group, his eyes darting left and right. The hood over his face kept his features hidden in shadow, but failed to fully contain his wild hair.

"Ah, Garou!" said Sycamore. "I was wondering where you were!"

Everyone turned to look at the man in the hoodie, who froze at the sudden cavalcade of stares. Sighing, Garou took off his hood, his hair snapping back to attention as it was freed from its prison of cloth.

"Yeah yeah," said Garou. "Been doing hero work for a while now."

"The Human Monster!" said Sycamore. "Mumen let the Human Monster join his group! Just how soft is he? How foolish is he?"

"How the hell did no one not notice this?!" said Accel. "How?"

"I…I don't know," said Mumen Rider. "He always kept to himself, didn't trouble anyone, sometimes wore a bandanna…"

"There you are…" hissed Sweet Mask. "You won't be getting away this time."

"Mumen, you fucking idiot!" said Atomic Samurai. "Did you even know how much damage that guy caused? The number of heroes he beat?"

"What the hell?" asked Tatsumaki, her face burning with red-hot rage. "Garou? You're still around?"

"Like I said!" said Garou. "I've been doing hero work-"

He was cut off as Blast punched through the air, a giant burning fist appearing at the end of his punch and soaring out through the wind to pummel into Garou. The ghostly fist engulfed Garou in flame and sent him tumbling backwards, rolling and crashing into a nearby pile of rubble. Garou lay splayed against the stones, blood seeping out through his mouth and staining his front teeth red. Spitting a gob of crimson out onto the ground, Garou rose from his spot and stretched, his back muscles tensing as he readied himself to spring.

"Alright," said Garou. "That's it."

"Why is he in your group, Mumen?" asked Metal Knight. "He is wanted."

"I-" said Mumen Rider.

"I have been doing hero work, and I didn't kill anyone!" said Garou. The veins in his eyes turned dark as he spoke. "And it's not as if Blast didn't know about me anyways…I'm just here to prevent him from destroying the whole damned city by trying to hurt Sycamore."

"That…that is why we're here," said Mumen Rider. "But…"

"And besides!" said Garou. Blood dripped out from his mouth as he spoke, and Garou raised a hand to wipe it away. His fingers splattered drops of blood onto the ground as he waved his hand to his side. "Don't you think it's unfair? That Blast gets to come in after doing nothing for years, and dictate what you all get to do, while Sycamore swoops in and kills all the monsters in a matter of weeks yet you all want to kill him? You all barely qualify as heroes anymore, you're just a bunch of damned pretenders!"

"Bullies, even," said Sycamore, throwing his hands up in the air at his sides. His tone was playful, all too eager to make the comparison.

"That's right," said Garou, his eyes narrowing. " _Bullies._ "

"We couldn't bully Sycamore even if we tried it seems," said Atomic Samurai. "Although we might still need to try."

"And Blast does not order us," said Drive Knight. "We only agree that Sycamore should be contained."

"None of you are real heroes," said Garou as he glared at Blast. "Just a bunch of pathetic, hypocritical bastards who are only doing this to make yourselves look good."

Metal Bat swung his weapon over his shoulder, his left eye twitching. Drive Knight's shoulders hunched. Sweet Mask and Atomic Samurai both drew their feet back, as if getting ready to rush at Garou.

"You're one to talk," said Atomic Samurai. "Done far more harm than good, and now you're spewing nonsense to us about being a hero?"

"He has a point," said Accel. "Oddly enough. You're all acting like damned fools."

"We have to stop this," said Mumen Rider, looking back at Accel in horror. "Don't antagonize them, we can't take them-"

"Bring it on then Blast!" said Garou. "If you're so eager to fight, why don't you pick someone you'll feel better about beating?"

"Don't tempt me," said Blast.

Sycamore stood watching the two groups begin to argue with each other, his head in the clouds. Somehow he felt as if he were in a dream, a paradise where he was being served the finest of mojitos while his favorite show had just started on a massive television. His grin oozed joy, and he clapped his hands together over his chest as the weaker members of Mumen Rider's group began to retreat from Metal Knight's sudden advance. Stomping along the ground, Metal Knight towered over the remaining heroes in Mumen Rider's group, his three eyes glaring bright red. As he contemplated his incoming victory, he glanced over at Fubuki, who to his surprise, wasn't looking at Blast and his companions. No, she was looking right at _him_. Her face was one of piercing disappointment, the very gaze of hers blasting right through the paradise in his head and leaving him with…nothing. Nothing but emptiness. Sycamore swallowed, quickly turning away from her. He didn't like that look, he didn't like it at all. The group about to battle in front of him could still be contained if things went too bad, but now his stomach was starting to flip. Fubuki was making him feel bad once again, was she in the right to do so? Was it fair? Sycamore didn't want to think about it, but he could feel her still staring at him, his skin burning through her eye contact. It made his insides roil, and he clasped a hand to his stomach. Fubuki narrowed her eyes as he did so.

"All of you, disperse," said Metal Knight. "It will not be safe here soon."

"This…this isn't right," said Mei, huddling with Rikuto next to the rest of Mumen's group as the metal behemoth stood over them. "You…can't threaten us like this."

"We might not have the strength," said Accel. "But we have the numbers! We will stop you, Blast!"

"I doubt that," said Blast. "If you're going to stand there and align with criminals, then you need to get out of our way."

"Alright, this is getting ridiculous," snapped Secter. "Everyone, listen! We don't need to fight here, there's no reason for this-"

"Oh shut the hell up," said Atomic Samurai. "No one knows who you are anyways."

Secter's face burned with rage, the veins in his arms tensing as he tightened his fists. Tatsumaki laid a hand on Secter's shoulder, but her eyes were equally furious.

"You're all wrong," said Tatsumaki. "For focusing on each other."

Garou and Blast stared each other down, while Metal Knight pushed everyone but Garou, Accel, Fubuki, and Mumen Rider back. The rest of Blast's group aside from Darkshine advanced, many of them staring directly at Garou.

 _Oh, how glad I am that you showed Garou,_ thought Sycamore, still refusing to look to his side. _This is truly it, this is the end right here…ah how sad these "heroes" are._

"I'm calling for backup," said Accel. "We can overcome them, we have the numbers."

"Take his phone," said Blast.

Atomic Samurai advanced towards Accel. The leader of the Neo Heroes brought his fists up and kicked one leg back, the wheels on his boots flinging themselves to the ground.

"Try it," said Accel.

"Guys!" said Fubuki, her attention turned to the oncoming battle. "Stop this!"

Blast's group continued to advance, with only Garou and Accel readying themselves to face them. Fubuki and Mumen Rider hung back, while Darkshine watched the rest of his group with arms crossed.

 _This is a complete clusterfuck,_ thought Secter. _Ah Christ you people, now I have to get in the middle of you._

Secter readied himself to run towards Metal Knight, his goal to knock the robot away before it could hurt anyone before placing himself between Garou and Blast's group. As he got ready to move, Tatsumaki slid her hand to his chest.

"You're all missing something," said Tatsumaki. "You're all forgetting who brought you here."

"The hell do you mean?" asked Metal Bat. He pointed his bat at Garou, who narrowed his eyes at him.

"Sycamore is playing all of you," said Tatsumaki. "That's what he means by the downfall of humankind, is playing you two groups against each other! You really think that if you guys fight, that you'll be in a better position to help others or stop Sycamore?"

Blast crossed his arms. Accel blinked as if waking from a dream. Sycamore straightened up, irritated by the words of the green-haired esper.

"Tatsumaki's right," said Mumen Rider. "Please, if you won't listen to me, listen to her."

"He wants you all to fight," said Tatsumaki. "Because if you do, then he wins. He'd be right, in his mind."

"Stop," said Sycamore. "It's not just about them fighting, it's the fact they'll even go that far. So quit spewing shit, Tatsumaki."

A death stare from Secter made Sycamore shrink his head into his shoulders. His stomach continued to growl.

"Now that I think about it," said Mumen Rider. "Sycamore distributed leaflets and posters for us, and invited heroes to our group…he was oddly enthusiastic about it, despite saying I was barely even a hero at one point."

"And he's the one who first told us about Blast," said Darkshine. "You guys remember? He said it'd be a good thing to pursue…"

"Yes…" said Blast. "Playing us…"

"He wants to win, he attributes winning as being right he cares about it far too much," said Fubuki. "I know because I've talked to him. He's not a bad person, he just wants to see you guys fall because he thinks it proves a point." She glared over at him. "A point he doesn't really need to make, a situation he doesn't need to exacerbate but you're doing it anyways! There's no reason for this Sycamore, we can go back to things being normal! I know that deep down you don't want any of this anyways!"

Sycamore's grin stayed on his face. His teeth ground into each other, scraping and tearing until he winced from the pain. His paradise was far away, his mind melting into a mess of doubt, anger, and above all, fear.

"We've both talked to him," said Tatsumaki as she crossed her arms at Sycamore. "And so has Secter. Sycamore could beat you all in a fight easy, but he doesn't want to rule or destroy the earth."

"He just thinks that humankind will destroy itself," said Secter. "Supposedly without his help. But as we can see, he cheated a little bit."

Sycamore eyed the shotgun on Secter's back before turning over to the heroes. All eyes were trained on him now.

"So…" said Metal Bat. "He's trying to have us fight…cuz it weakens humanity."

"It could destroy humanity!" said Mumen Rider. "Blast and you guys versus all of our group would do tremendous damage! And there'd be no heroes to clean it up!"

"I'm sorry Sycamore," said Fubuki. "But you need to stop this, _now_. You're causing trouble when you don't need to, you don't need to tie your identity to something like this. And everyone else, there's no reason to fight!"

"Except for Garou," said Atomic Samurai. "But we'll focus on you later."

"Fuck off," said Garou.

"I see," said Blast. "So Sycamore is still a threat, but now his plan is clear to me…"

"You fucked up buddy," said Metal Bat. "We got you figured out. Should've realized it earlier, to be honest."

Sycamore stood his ground as the groups dispersed around him, all eyes focusing on his crooked grin instead of each other. Pain was flaring up in his head, turning into a burning inferno. He couldn't stand to look at Fubuki, couldn't bear to let her words have weight. Yet…somewhere deep down, he knew that she wasn't totally in the wrong, that perhaps he was worrying too much…

 _No!_ he thought. _Look at them, just look at them! Surrounding me like wolves to their dying prey! They…they think I've lost, I can't let this happen, I can't let this fall apart, everything I worked for, just for nothing…_

He finally looked over at Fubuki. Her eyes were softer now, her arms draped at her sides. She looked tired, exhausted, ready to fall down and sleep at any moment. Sycamore's chest began to hurt. He had disappointed her, he knew it. But…he couldn't falter, could he?

 _I don't like seeing her like this,_ he thought. _She's a sweet person, perhaps she really does want the best for me and everyone else…but then again, she's circling me too, isn't she? Yes…she's circling me too. They're all circling me dammit, what the fuck do I do?! I can't just…I can't just throw away everything I've become, not when I'm so damned close to victory! Yet…is this what I wanted? Fuck, I don't know, I don't know!_

He rubbed at his aching temples, dipping his head towards the ground. Everything hurt, his stomach, his chest, his brain. The look Fubuki was giving him only made things far worse.

"So if this is the case," said Blast. "Then it would be best for us to not fight…" Nodding, he turned over to Garou. "Stand down Garou, there will be no fighting between us here."

Garou shoved his hands in his pockets, but his glare to Blast never faltered.

"What you're all best off doing is showing Sycamore that he's wrong," said Tatsumaki. "That you won't fight, that you won't endanger humanity by being stupid. And Sycamore, you just need to listen for a moment, you need to stop worrying about all this weird ideology you have."

"Yes," said Fubuki. "But don't go too over-"

"You have failed, Sycamore," said Blast. "Close, but not close enough."

"Calm down Blast," said Fubuki. "Seriously."

"No one needs to fight," said Mumen Rider. "Let's just talk about this."

"Sycamore, it's time to stand down," said Secter. "You let Blast hit you just to get our attention, and now we're telling you there's no reason to keep going with your plan. Just calm yourself, and we can talk." He glared over at Blast. "And you, knock your shit off, no insulting Sycamore, no more big attacks, no antagonizing people. We can talk this out."

"Right…" said Fubuki, breathing a sigh of relief. "Ugh, close call, my heart's going so fast…"

Sycamore stood, his grin widening as his eyes narrowed. He felt like vomiting. Twitching to the right, he let out a tiny groan, followed by an even tinier chuckle. Everyone stood watching him, vultures over his shuddering corpse. He felt nothing, was nothing, was surrounded yet again. They began to melt in his eyes, little more than black shapes with gleaming eyes. He turned around the group, frantic. Kindness was nowhere to be found, not a single one of the onlookers wanting anything but to tear him down. But then…he saw one of the shadows, with just a hint of sadness in its eyes, its arms hanging low over its shapely figure. He smiled at it, tiny and afraid against the looming others. For a moment it seemed the figure would return the smile, but then it too stood back to watch along with the others. Sycamore's smile melted away, and he straightened himself up. Everyone came back into view, like heat mirages vanishing away as one drew close to reveal all the heroes watching him with suspicion.

"Secter…" said Tatsumaki, her voice low. "He's not saying anything."

"I know," said Secter. "I'm ready just in case."

"Ahhh," said Sycamore, his head pounding away. "I see how it is. All of you. You all want to make your point here is that it? Well…maybe you're right, maybe you're just onto _something_."

Fubuki's hands, sweaty and clammy from the earlier encounter, grew cold at the sound of Sycamore's voice. He was saying what she wanted to hear, but there was no conviction in his words.

 _He's not convinced, is he?_ thought Fubuki. _Sycamore, please…I'm not trying to hurt you here, I'm doing this out of real concern, I promise._

"You know," said Sycamore. "You three…" He gestured over to Fubuki, then Secter and Tatsumaki, a slow sweep of the hand that one might expect from a drunkard trying to give a speech. "You really tried, you did, and I appreciate it. You did really want to make an impact on me, and Fubuki got the farthest…"

"Good, good…" said Secter. "That's good Sycamore, we want you to-"

"Let him finish," said Blast. "I'm still not convinced he shouldn't be at least contained."

"Just shut up Blast," snapped Fubuki. Garou chuckled at her words.

"And maybe you three are kinda right," said Sycamore. "Heh…there's no reason for all this, no reason to just keep living up to the identity I worked _so much_ to make. No, no, you did this out of the good in your hearts, especially you Fubuki, you did it out of care, not to avoid something like this, something that's totally my fault…"

Secter narrowed his eyes, curling his mouth upwards. He was confused, unsure exactly what Sycamore was getting at, but his tone was worrying him. Fubuki reached out towards Sycamore, starting to piece together what he was going for.

"Sycamore," she said. "Come on. I know this wasn't all your fault, and I really do want you to be happier, but just relax a little ok? This isn't the end of the world!"

"Of course not…" said Sycamore. "Perhaps I was wrong to try and manipulate you all. Perhaps I was wrong to doubt your heroism. Perhaps I was wrong to go for what I did, I'm clearly the bad person here. Surely I have…failed, lost, all that for nothing and we can all just move on. You guys just do as you please, I guess."

"Yes, you are a failure," said Blast. "We got that much. Now move on."

"Blast, shut the fuck up," said Secter.

"He has a point though," said Atomic Samurai. "This guy has lost. So, now what do we do with him?"

"I suppose you all have won today," said Sycamore, as if he didn't hear Atomic Samurai's words. His breathing had gotten heavy, so loud that even the bystanders thirty feet away could hear it. "No reason to be angry."

"Lock him up?" asked Metal Knight.

"We just had this conversation," said Mumen Rider. "There's no reason…"

"He just admitted that he lost!" said Atomic Samurai. "And he tried to get us all to fight to destroy humankind. He's not a good person."

"Yes, that much is clear," said Blast. "Everyone, let's formulate a plan to contain him. Let's formulate a plan…peacefully."

"That's a start at least," said Accel.

Secter shook his head and looked down at Tatsumaki. She looked up at him, the two of them exchanging irritated glances.

"We're not doing that," said Fubuki. "Guys, come on, _Blast_ caused more damage than Sycamore did! You're being irrational here!"

"You all are just acting out of fear," said Secter. "We're not doing this, we can't even lock Sycamore up anyways."

"He doesn't need to be locked up," said Tatsumaki. "All of you calm down."

Not a single person in Blast's group seemed to acknowledge what they had said, aside from Darkshine who stood away from just about everyone else. Rikuto and Mei exchanged worried looks with Mumen Rider.

 _Look at her, still thinking she's doing the right thing,_ thought Sycamore. He let his arms drop to his sides, dark shadows overcasting his face and obscuring all his features but his lost, tired eyes. _I'm so grateful you're feeling good about yourself Fubuki. So glad. You're…ugh. Just, just fuck it. I'm sorry about this Fubuki, and I'm sorry Tatsumaki, and I'm sorry Secter, I just don't know what the fuck to do. Well…I know what to do, but…I'm sorry. It's…it's all I have, it's all I have left!_

The bottoms of his eyes began to brim over with liquid. Sycamore wiped at them.

 _It's all I have,_ he thought. _I'll prove to those bastards over there that they're wrong, they mean nothing to me, they can't beat me, they can't! They just got fucking lucky here…mostly because of…because of you three… Well…I'm sorry Secter, but it has to be done._

"Well," said Secter as he looked down at Tatsumaki. "Guess we have to put Blast and his idiots in line."

"Not how I wanted to spend my afternoon," said Tatsumaki. "Arguing over what to do with Sycamore. Honestly I'd prefer to have Blast locked up, why don't we do that-"

From beside the two, Sycamore tore his hand into his coat, got his pistol, and raised it up. There was a loud crack that sounded off into the air, and then a beam of white enveloped Secter's head, hiding it from view. A few seconds later the beam evaporated, and Secter collapsed to the ground. As Tatsumaki and the rest of the heroes began to realize what had happened, Sycamore grimaced at what he had done, his stomach feeling like it was in an active meat grinder. Then he turned to Blast. Upon seeing the look on the hero's face, Sycamore couldn't help but grin.


	14. Chapter 14

Tatsumaki's heart felt like it was being squeezed, wrenching itself into a crooked shape as she realized what was going on. She froze as she saw Secter hit the ground, his head turned away from her as he landed on his side. A tiny gasp escaped her mouth, and numbness crept along through her arms like snakes tearing through her nerves. Nothing made sense to her anymore, nothing could ever make sense. Her stomach leapt into her throat as her eyes began to burn. It couldn't be real.

"Ah-" said Tatsumaki. She bent down towards Secter, tears rushing out from the bottoms of her eyes. As she approached him, she saw his chest move up and down.

"Calm yourself Tatsumaki," said Sycamore, lowering his pistol. "It was only a stun round. He'll just be out of it for a bit."

Tatsumaki crouched over Secter, rolling him onto his back. She gasped in utter joy as she saw his chest rise and fall despite his eyes being closed. Laughing, she pulled Secter up into her chest, holding his unconscious body close. Tighter and tighter she squeezed, her joy overflowing her senses as she felt his body warm against hers. Turning, her joy faded to rage as she realized that Sycamore was watching her. She glared at him, both eyes glowing with green light.

"Why," snarled Tatsumaki. "Why would you do this."

The rest of the heroes advanced towards Sycamore, each one readying themselves to fight. Blast smiled, his victory assuredly upon him. Fubuki's expression had changed from shock to horror to rage all within seconds, her brain still racing to take in what Sycamore had just done. She took a step forward, aiming to dash at Sycamore to start yelling right into his grim face. Mumen Rider ran before she did, blocking her way.

"You know why," said Sycamore. "You know what can happen now." His grin widened to encompass half of his face, tearing itself to an unnatural length as it curled down towards his chin and across to the sides of his head.

"No more nullification," said Sycamore. "I'm sorry about this Tatsumaki, and Fubuki, and Secter. But I've got a lot to prove here, and a lot of people who need to be taught just who's really in control."

"Don't!" screamed Fubuki, reaching out from over Mumen Rider's shoulder.

At once, the world went white for Tatsumaki and Fubuki. Everything, from the desert to the buildings to the heroes standing with them were rushed out of view by an explosion of bright white, encompassing all within a blinding fog. Tatsumaki fell to the ground, her arms still wrapped around Secter as he plummeted down with her. Her hand banged against the ground, a piercing sound echoing off from the corners of her brain to her ear canals. Groaning, Tatsumaki sat upright, one hand bolting to her forehead while the other remained on Secter's back to support him to sit up. Tatsumaki blinked, her vision clearing as her head ceased its pounding. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw what lay ahead.

Hundreds of feet away stood the form of a gigantic white entity, blending into the white atmosphere as it stood glaring down at Tatsumaki. Its eyes and teeth were jet black as it moved its bright fire-coated body from side to side as if trapped in a mesmerizing dance. Dozens of five-foot long teeth adorned the creature's mouth, all pulled back in a sadistic grin. As Tatsumaki crawled back from the creature, several black spines shot out from its back, stretching further and further into the white fog up above. As they moved, the vanilla atmosphere dissipated to reveal a blue sky, cluttered with clouds like any other normal afternoon. The spines reached higher and higher, the tips of them disappearing from sight in the patch of blue sky they created amongst the thick milky mist.

"Sis!" yelled Fubuki. Tatsumaki turned to her right, spotting Fubuki heading out from the mist around her. Fubuki limped over to where Tatsumaki sat, blood soaking through the left leg of her dress. Keeping a hand on her wound, Fubuki came to a stop right before she made it to her sister and turned towards the white entity, her mouth open and her eyes wide with terror.

"Fubuki…" said Tatsumaki. "What…what's happening?"

"I don't know," said Fubuki. "There was an explosion, and I think I fell on some rubble, and now…" She watched as the monstrous being in front of them shuddered, its spines having hit something high above it and retracting back towards its misty backside.

"We…we can't fight that," said Tatsumaki. "That…"

"Sycamore," said Fubuki. "It's Sycamore."

The spines had retracted far enough to where they were visible amongst the clear patch of sky now, each one quivering as it moved. The white fog up above parted as the dark tentacles drew closer to the atmosphere, yet the mist remained in place on the ground, shielding everything that wasn't in the sky from the espers' view.

At the end of each one of the tentacles was a planet, massive colorful spheres of green and blue, yellow and red. A few of the spines had latched onto faraway moons, the enormous pale rocks crumbling as the spines wrapped around them tight. A myriad of planets and moons hung in the sky far closer to the earth than they ever should be, each one moving in sync to the swaying spines. They had come from some other places in the galaxy, and now they belonged to the Soulless.

Sycamore laughed, his voice booming out over the planet and sending the espers' hair rushing back at the sheer sound of his voice.

"You still feeling big, Blast?!" asked Sycamore to someplace far beyond the sisters. "Still think you've won, can contain me?"

"Sycamore!" shouted Fubuki.

Sycamore shuddered.

"Just…one moment," said Sycamore. "You stay right there Fubuki, I'm just gonna do something real quick." He spotted Blast and his motley group further out from the desert, all staring up in terror at him. Mumen's group was scattered all along them as well, looking just as bewildered and horrified. Sycamore laughed.

His laugh exploded throughout the fog as the spines began to twist together, turning and twining like a gigantic planetary tree. Each of the planets up above were forced into each other, melting into one form like molten iron on an anvil.

"How…how is this possible?" asked Tatsumaki. Her body was shaking, both arms firmly around Secter now as she pushed him closer into her. His limp form slumped over her, his head leaning behind her back as both of his arms crumpled past her chest and onto her lap. "The Soulless are strong as you said Secter, they're as strong as you said…"

From up above, the planets continued to melt together and reshape themselves, extending out into the sky as they turned into a colorful diamond shape. The diamond melted itself further, its reach already far beyond the length of the earth. Then, the planet-object glowed a bright yellow, obscuring it from view from any down below. The glow faded just as quickly as it began, and when it dissipated, a gigantic sword was revealed to be in its place, shimmering blue and yellow as the gases and materials within it swirled and churned in its new form.

"Who wants to do galaxies next?" asked Sycamore. He chuckled, the shockwave from his voice nearly sending Fubuki to her knees. "Kidding, kidding…"

Tatsumaki stared at the planet-sword, her mouth hanging open. Her mind was melting as she looked, her entire body quivering as the sword fell from the sky and into Sycamore's outstretched claw of fog. He raised it high above his head, the sword hovering in the sky just above the planet's stratosphere.

"Well would you look at that," said Sycamore, eying his new weapon. "Still think you can contain me, you bastard? What are you going to do, beat me up? Saw my back apart? No no, I told you I made myself into something new, something better, that you were all flawed in your heroism. You didn't need me to start that fight, you would've done it anyways! And yet you all still blame me! I didn't lose you bastards, I didn't lose…" He coughed, something within his midsection beginning to burn.

Fubuki took a step forward, her eyes trained on Sycamore. She started to limp towards the coughing monstrosity, her eyes glaring against the white fog which surrounded her. Sycamore regained control over himself as his cough subsided and he turned to look down at Fubuki. Tatsumaki saw Sycamore's eyes shift down and she lunged forward, landing on her stomach and arms as she forced herself out of shock to drag her body towards her sister. Secter fell on his back as Tatsumaki began to lurch towards Fubuki.

"Sycamore!" shouted Fubuki. "This is fucking ridiculous!"

"Please, just stay there," said Sycamore. "You'll be fine, I just have to scare the wits out of that damned group. Maybe even beat Blast up again, dunno."

"Put the sword down!" said Fubuki. "Or…back, or wherever the hell you got it from!"

Sycamore's lowered his head towards Fubuki, his face becoming the sky above her head as she flinched at the sudden onslaught of black teeth and shadowy eyes.

"Are you going to make me?" asked Sycamore. "Do what makes you feel good?"

"Sycamore…" said Fubuki. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Because," said Sycamore. "I…I saw all of you. Surrounding me, like predators, like vultures, so eager to prove what a failure I was, so eager to ignore all that I had done…just, I don't know, stand the hell back already! You know you shouldn't have gotten involved! And all the other heroes know what they were doing was wrong, not me! They're the flawed ones, them!"

"Sis!" yelled Tatsumaki, her voice strained as burning tears ran down her face. "Get back! Please!"

"It's alright," said Fubuki. "He won't hurt us."

"No, I won't hurt you," said Sycamore. "Blast and some of the others are a lot more tempting."

Fubuki scrunched her nose. Turning her head up, she reached down towards the bottom of her dress and began to pull it up, farther and farther against the side of her leg.

"What on earth are you doing?" asked Sycamore. "Is that-"

There was a gash along Fubuki's leg, wide enough to fit several fingers into. It leaked blood down past her thigh-high socks to her knee, warm and thick. She winced as she looked at it, stinging pain still emanating at where the stone from earlier had cut her open.

"Oh," said Sycamore, wilting. "I did that, didn't I…"

"And here I was thinking you said everything would be alright," said Fubuki. She lowered her dress back over the wound, prompting a lurch from Sycamore.

"I told you not to get involved!" said Sycamore. "Just…ah fuck it, I'm sorry Fubuki. Fuck…" He squinted, his unusual form shuddering. "I didn't mean to do that."

"I know you didn't," said Fubuki. "Which is why what you're doing now, is a complete farce. Absolutely no reason for any of it. You're not going to actually hit anyone with that thing, not a chance in hell. You don't want to hurt me, or my sister, or Secter, or even anyone else, you know there's no point, you know it just makes you look bad, you know that it's not really _you_."

"Stop this," groaned Sycamore. "Please."

" _No_ ," said Fubuki. "I'm tired of you threatening people, or scheming against people when you have no reason to. You don't need to tie that identity of yours to your self-worth, a little humility won't kill you. And what you said earlier, about me doing stuff to make myself feel good? You still believe that about me?"

Sycamore's eyes dropped to where Fubuki held back the blood from rushing out from her leg. He dropped his free hand to his midsection, rubbing his shifting claw over it.

"No…" he said. "I don't…"

"You're afraid, even still," said Fubuki. "When there's no reason to be. Just because humankind doesn't extinguish itself, doesn't mean that you're a complete failure. After all, you don't even want that! You'd be devastated if anything that bad happened to me, or sis, or Secter, now wouldn't you?"

Sycamore gave a tiny nod, his eyes burning.

"Fubuki…" said Tatsumaki. "Sis…"

Fubuki turned back to her sister and smiled. Tatsumaki's face was embalmed with fear.

"It's ok," said Fubuki. "I've got this."

Turning back, Fubuki's expression turned from that of a dear friend to one of dead seriousness.

"You're lashing out because it was too much," said Fubuki. "I know, you really don't like groups being against you. And you made that…saw your back comment? Sycamore…you still haven't moved on, this persona you've made is still steeped in the Nothing, it's not who you are and it's not what you really want to be. That's what I really meant about changing, it's not a quick process, it's about slowly healing and moving on…"

"That…that's right," said Tatsumaki. "Sycamore, she's right, listen to her, none of this is easy but it can still be done, trust me, I know."

"I just…find it so hard that you're still willing to give me a chance," said Sycamore. "Look…look at me now, you're right, aren't you Fubuki? I'm parading around just to scare you all for no good goddamn reason. You…you're right." Sycamore's eyes went wide, pallid, afraid. "You're right. And that's…that's fine, we can…still keep going, can we?"

"We can," said Fubuki. "And I'm willing to give you another chance, but keep in mind you have disappointed me. I…I hate to say it but I won't lie, I promised to be honest to you, to treat you normally, remember? I'm disappointed. But that doesn't mean I've given up on you, far from it. Just put the sword back, we both know you're not going to do anything with it."

Sycamore winced, his body retreating up into the sky around Fubuki. He twisted his mouth into a frown made of sharp black teeth.

"Ah God it hurts," said Sycamore. "My stomach, it's roiling. Feels like it's going to explode…" Tears, black and massive, almost the size of cars, started to roll down his face. "Ah, I feel like screaming! I don't know what to do with myself Fubuki! What have I done?!"

"It's ok Sycamore," said Fubuki. "Just calm down, relax. It's ok, I promise. We'll figure this all out, but I need you to be in your regular form, ok?"

"Change…change back…"

"That's right."

"You don't…you don't need to do this Fubuki, you really don't need to reach out. I see what you're saying, I've lost, there's no hope for me anymore."

"Sycamore, what I'm saying is not that you've lost, but that you've made a mistake. A mistake that can be remedied, pretty easily to be honest. There's still plenty of hope for you, come on now, I know you can be a really sweet guy."

"I shot Secter, hurt you, and terrorized the whole world," sputtered Sycamore. "Why…why did I feel I needed to go this far? Why? What's the point? I was ok with being wrong with the heroes not fighting, I was ok with it from the start? Why couldn't I see that?"

"Because you were brutalized, and like you said, not used to friends," said Fubuki. "Too used to losing them, one way or another. But this place isn't like that, and I know you still care about all of us. It just takes time to readjust, everything was too fast for you and you had trouble handling it. But now, now we're extending a hand to help, right sis?"

Fubuki looked back, silently pleading to her sister that she'd agree. Tatsumaki pulled herself a bit closer, twitching her nose.

"Sis…" said Fubuki.

"Yeah," said Tatsumaki. "I'll help. I'm beyond angry, but I haven't given up on you either Sycamore. You seem…genuinely broken up and guilty over all this."

In fact, it was beyond that. Sycamore's heart was twisting in utter pain, his brain searching out for any possible ray of hope to bask in, any rung that would let him climb the ladder out of the abyss of despair…

He found only one. The shimmering of the light from his body across Fubuki's face and hair. She extended a hand.

"See?" she asked. "Now please Sycamore, go back to normal. Put the sword away. We can get better together."

Tatsumaki's eyes widened.

The white vanished from view, the desert and surrounding cities reappearing again. In an instant Sycamore was back to his original form, the planetary sword no longer in sight. Sycamore stared down at the ground as Fubuki jolted upright at the sudden change in the environment.

"Is…is everything back to normal?" asked Fubuki.

"Yes," said Sycamore, his voice low.

"And…no one was hurt, right?" asked Fubuki.

"Just…just you," said Sycamore. "All the other heroes were knocked back into the city, or were teleported to some spot within it."

"Sis…" said Tatsumaki as she reached Fubuki's side and laid a hand on her back. "You…you did amazing out there, I don't think I would've been able to do that."

Fubuki smiled.

"I learned a thing or two," she said. "Not just from Sycamore, but from you and Secter too. Sometimes it helps to just listen."

"I'm…proud," said Tatsumaki. "I…ugh, I'll help with this, sorry if I'm still hesitant, but…"

"I understand," said Fubuki. "Completely. But while I know you're upset, I really need your help right now."

"I'll help," said Tatsumaki. "Just…give me a moment, alright? I want to make sure Secter's really ok."

"Alright," said Fubuki. "He looks alright, I really hope he's ok."

"He's fine," said Sycamore. He sniffed, tears still streaming down his cheeks but by now were but tiny glimmering streams as opposed to the massive boulders of liquid they were earlier. "I…I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am."

"It's alright, you're admitting it," said Fubuki. "Your guilt, you feel bad over this. Don't worry, we'll help you out, get things right."

"I just wanted to be…something better," said Sycamore. "But I couldn't even get that right."

"You're certainly better than people like the Commandant," said Fubuki. "You're without a doubt a good person to me, just afraid and hurting."

Sycamore sniffed again. He clenched his teeth together as he started to fall into a soft wave of sobbing.

"Sycamore," said Fubuki, reaching out towards him with one arm. "Come over here, it'll be alright. We can be friends, this doesn't have to be a fight or a competition anymore."

"Friend is a strong word," muttered Tatsumaki. "It'll take me a long time to forgive you for shooting my Secter."

"I understand," said Sycamore. "I wouldn't forgive me either."

Tatsumaki's eyes went softer, and she let out a tiny sigh.

"But I haven't given up on you either," said Tatsumaki. "Let's just all cool it, alright? We can work this out."

"Exactly," said Fubuki, smiling over at Sycamore. "We-"

A yellow burst of energy flew past Tatsumaki as a loud _boom_ went off in the air. It tore right through Sycamore's midsection, his eyes growing huge as he stumbled back from the impact. Gasping, Sycamore fell to the ground.

. . .

Secter's eyes fluttered open. Above, the sky was blue, but below, the area was white. His head feeling ready to explode, Secter sat upright, keeping one hand glued to his forehead.

 _Tatsu…_ he thought. _Where's Tatsu?_

Moaning in pain, Secter struggled to pull himself to his feet, every inch of his body aching with the effort. As he brought himself to a standing position, he spotted Sycamore standing just ahead, staring downwards. Squinting, Secter rubbed at his eyes. Right in front of Sycamore were Fubuki and Tatsumaki, one of whom was bleeding from the leg. Rage starting to build, Secter looked up just in time to see the remnants of some odd white fog far up in the sky finally dissipate.

 _Power…_ thought Secter. _He shot me, Fubuki's hurt, and was using a power! What the hell does he think he's doing!?_

Secter stood in shock for a moment before flinging his hands to his back and dashing forward. He ripped his shotgun out from behind him and pointed it at Sycamore as the Soulless gazed to the ground. Mouth peeled back in a vicious snarl, Secter pulled the trigger and watched as a burst of elimination energy tore through Sycamore and sent him sprawling to the dirt. Sycamore's gun fell free from his suit and clattered along the dirt, sliding several feet away.

Fubuki and Tatsumaki turned to Secter, their expressions drenched in shock. Secter's eyes were wild, his hair coated in dust from his dirt nap. His breathing turned heavy, heart and chest pounding alike as Secter glared down at Sycamore with every ounce of hatred he could muster.

"What did he do," said Secter.

"Secter!" said Tatsumaki. "You're up!"

"Secter, it's ok," said Fubuki, panic rising in her voice. "He didn't hurt anyone-"

"He just shot at me, and when I woke up, he was doing something with his powers," said Secter. "You two don't know, if he wanted he could tear your minds to pieces in an instant or worse."

"He didn't," said Fubuki. "Just got…heated."

"Stun…round," gasped Sycamore, one hand over the yellow oozing hole in his chest.

Fubuki ran over to Sycamore, propping him up into a sitting position as yellow blood streamed from his mouth. Sycamore's eyes were affixed on a point far away.

Tatsumaki put a hand on Secter's arm, tugging on his sleeve as Secter tightened his grip on his gun.

"Secter, it's ok," said Tatsumaki. "It's ok Secter, Fubuki talked him down. It's ok."

At Tatsumaki's voice, Secter's arms drooped, his eyes turning soft.

"Alright…" said Secter. "Alright…" He turned over to Tatsumaki, who returned his look with shimmering eyes.

"I was so afraid," said Tatsumaki. "For a second, I thought you were dead."

"I'm…ok," said Secter. "Head hurts, but I'm ok." Tears forced their way through his eyes and onto his cheeks as he saw the darkened streaks along Tatsumaki's face. "I'm ok."

Tatsumaki leaned up and hugged him, with Secter pulling her close so tight that she gasped as she first made impact into his body.

"Sycamore!" said Fubuki, her hands shaking as she placed them over his injury. "Just stay with me, alright?"

"No," groaned Sycamore. "I understand, I get it. I would kill me if I were you too, just get it over with please…"

"No," said Fubuki. His words terrorized her to her core, and she pressed harder against his wounds even as they seeped blood over her fingers and hands. "You don't deserve this. You really don't Sycamore, please don't think like this, it's not all over for you…"

"I don't even know anymore," said Sycamore. He coughed, sending a stream of blood onto the desert sand below. "I don't know what to do…"

"Just relax," said Fubuki. "That's it, that's all you have to do. Don't worry about anything else, we'll get you back on your feet."

"You're too kind..."

"I'm really not," said Fubuki. "I think just about anyone would do this, but I'm even more inclined because I like you Sycamore. I'm not going to let you die, that's insane." She turned back over to Secter, panicked and enraged at the same time. "I could use some help over here!"

"Oh, right," said Secter, stiffening. He ran over to Sycamore and Fubuki, examining the wounds under Fubuki's stained hands. Tatsumaki followed him over.

"We're going to get you some help," said Secter. "But shit…I think I'm out of bandages."

"You don't have medical supplies?!" asked Fubuki. "Sycamore, don't…don't you keep some on you?"

"Suit," said Sycamore, his voice choked with blood and phlegm from the crying and internal tearing. "In the suit. Shotgun probably destroyed most of them."

Fubuki's darted her free hand into Sycamore's suit, the other pressing against his wound. One hand soaking wet with blood, Fubuki found a lump of bandages in one of Sycamore's inner suit pockets and tore them free, raising them above her head as she got them out of his suit.

"No need…" said Sycamore. "You don't have to…"

"We're going to," said Secter. "You made some mistakes, but we're not letting you die."

"Why?" asked Sycamore.

Secter sighed.

"Please Secter," said Fubuki. "I know…he's not the greatest person, but he's hurting, and he…didn't hurt anyone himself. He's just afraid."

"I know," said Secter. "I know. He's having trouble getting away from how things used to be."

"I…can try," said Sycamore. "Fubuki…she's right…you're right Fubuki…maybe I just need time…"

"That's it," said Fubuki, her voice slinking over Sycamore's face like cold rain. "Just relax, it'll be ok, it'll take time, but it'll be ok…"

Tatsumaki's shoulders sagged at the sight of Sycamore's oozing mouth.

"Alright," said Secter. "Keep still for a second Sycamore."

Secter reached down and wrapped the first bandage around Sycamore's torso, the inside layer of the gauze glowing as it went to work on the wound. Two more bandages later, Sycamore had a series of wrappings around his wound as he lay down on the ground.

"He'll need something more substantial," said Secter. "Bleeding too much. You have any serum or anything?"

"Hotel," said Sycamore. "Go and teleport, I sure as hell won't stop you."

"Alright," said Secter. "See you in two seconds."

He disappeared from sight. In the distance, a crashing sound could be heard, like a car crashing against a brick wall.

"What was that?" asked Fubuki.

"Probably Metal Knight or Blast getting out of some rubble," said Sycamore. "They'll be here soon, probably to yell at me."

"We've got your back," said Fubuki. She glanced over at her sister, who was standing with her arms crossed. "Right sis?"

"I…yeah," said Tatsumaki. "I'm angry, but I'll back you up, especially since my sis is vouching for you."

"I know you're mad," said Sycamore. "I understand, I would be too. And I'm very, very sorry."

Tatsumaki sighed, her arms dropping to her sides.

"You didn't have to do all that," said Tatsumaki. "Yet you lashed out anyways."

"Fear, I was afraid…" said Sycamore. "Was pointless and stupid of me."

"It's…alright," said Tatsumaki. "I've…destroyed and hurt things out of fear before too."

"But you changed," said Sycamore. "You are a fine person now, you and your sister and Secter are the finest people I've met."

"…Thanks," said Tatsumaki. "You don't seem too bad yourself, just went through a lot of really bad stuff."

Secter reappeared in the midst of the trio, a bundle of glowing bandages and several neon syringes in his arms.

"Alright, I'm back," said Secter. "Let's get to work here."

Secter propped Sycamore up with one hand, poking a needle near where Sycamore's wound was. Tatsumaki and Fubuki watched as Secter went to work before turning around at the sound of impending footsteps. From the city around them came Blast and his group, most of the members covered with dust and bruises. Mumen Rider and his followers stepped out next to them, each one glancing around in confusion.

"What the hell was that?!" yelled Blast. "Did you see that?! He was going to kill us all!"

"Oh great, here comes the idiot," said Tatsumaki.

"Here we go," said Fubuki. "Sis, you got my back?"

"Of course," said Tatsumaki. She stood as tall as she possibly could next to her sister, eying the wary and enraged heroes who came to approach them. Ghosts out of the dust, each member of the groups turned from darkened silhouettes to clear versions of themselves as finally all of them came into view.

The two sisters strode forward as Blast turned to his group and began to rant. Sycamore winced at his voice.

"He will make them try to kill me," said Sycamore. "Can't say I totally blame them now."

Secter bit off a section of bandage, wrapping it around Sycamore's torso to cover the bloody wound entirely.

"Not like he can do anything," said Secter. "And don't worry, we'll talk him out of it."

"He's a threat!" yelled Blast from a few meters away. "You all saw!"

"He didn't hurt anyone seriously," said Tatsumaki. "He just got afraid."

"I'm a bit bruised," said Darkshine.

"And he nearly destroyed the planet!" yelled Atomic Samurai. "Did you fucking see what he did?"

"But he didn't," said Tatsumaki.

"And he never would have," said Fubuki. "I swear it."

"Oh yeah, like we're going to trust _you_ ," spat Blast. "Worthless bitch."

A fire burned behind Tatsumaki's eyes. Even if it killed her, she swore she was going to murder this man right here and now.

"You better watch your fucking mouth Blast, most of this is your fault," said Tatsumaki.

"Oh?" said Blast. "And how so?"

"You were the one trying to kill Sycamore in the first place!" yelled Fubuki. "You struck the first blow!"

"We can't even fight Sycamore…" said Mumen Rider. Glancing over at Sycamore, Mumen Rider frowned as he noticed the bloody Soulless staring down at the ground. "And he looks…injured, and…guilty."

"He feels terrible, and has paid for it," said Fubuki. "He even did less damage than Blast did, and wants to make up for it."

The arguing went on as Sycamore listened, grunting as Secter finished his medical handiwork.

"Ugh," said Sycamore. "Now I just want to sleep."

"You're going to have to wait a bit," said Secter. "And by the way, where the hell did you get a stun pistol?"

"Military police," said Sycamore. "Rare model though. Usually only works with a headshot, which I guess explains why there were so few. Got stun and kill function…"

"Huh," said Secter. "Never seen one."

"I'm sorry for shooting you," said Sycamore. "I…wanted to scare them. With a power. For some reason, I thought it would…empower me somehow, but I just made myself out to be an asshole."

"Yeah, you kinda did," said Secter. "And I was terrified to wake up to see that you had done something, I know what Soulless are capable of. But it's alright. You regret what you did, I don't think you'd ever hurt anyone let alone kill them, and at least you're pledging to stop all this craziness. We'll help sort this out."

"Thank you," said Sycamore. "You are all too kind to me…I'm not used to it."

"I know," said Secter. "But you better start soon."

Secter stood up from Sycamore, shaking his head.

"Alright," said Secter. "That'll do. You ready to get Blast to fuck off?"

"Yeah," said Sycamore. "That sounds good."

. . .

Secter kept his hand on Sycamore's back as he shambled over to where Tatsumaki and Fubuki stood. Blast glared at him the whole way he moved.

"So," said Blast. "There you are."

Sycamore coughed, yellow blood splattering against the back of his teeth and out onto the ground. A dotted pattern of bright drops appeared on the sand below.

"I…apologize," said Sycamore. "I…acted like a fool. Scared…got scared…"

"He's not going to hurt anyone," said Secter. "He just acted out of fear, you guys ganged up on him too much and he lashed out."

"Acted out of fear, just like you Blast," said Tatsumaki. "Imagine that."

Blast sneered at Tatsumaki. She gave him no hint of an expression, her eyes as dead as he was to her.

"Everyone, listen," said Fubuki. "Sycamore…is way too strong for any of you to fight. And there's no reason to fight him, he really has done a lot of good for the world!"

"I didn't know he was _that_ strong," said Garou. "He started fucking with the solar system, for fuck's sakes!"

"I…never would've…hurt anyone," said Sycamore. "I could've killed you all…without that damned sword…but I wouldn't, I wouldn't."

"He's in no position to hurt anyone now anyways," said Secter. "I'm about as strong as he is, and can cancel his powers out."

"What?" asked Blast.

"Yeah, get used to it," said Secter. "Actually, I'd much prefer it if you fucked off."

"Don't want to stand, hurts," said Sycamore. "Want to sit down."

"Alright," said Secter. He guided Sycamore to the ground, frowning as Sycamore winced while he stretched his legs forward to sit. Sycamore plopped onto the ground, every breath a labor of monumental pain for him. He sat facing the opposite direction of Secter, his eyes still distant and grim.

"Everyone, just go home," said Fubuki. "We're done here."

"No we aren't," said Blast. "What about Sycamore? What do we do with him?"

"We've got him," said Fubuki. "He's a friend."

Sycamore chuckled at the words.

"I'm quite a bad one," said Sycamore. "Quite a bad one."

"He's trying to get better," said Tatsumaki. "He comes from…a bad place."

"I don't give a shit where he comes from," said Blast. "We have to…we have to come up with a plan."

"No prison will hold a being like that," said Metal Knight. "He must be studied."

"He's not going anywhere," said Secter. "We have him under control."

"And how are we supposed to believe that?!" said Blast.

"Because we stopped the attack in the first place," said Fubuki.

Sycamore chuckled as both groups stared at Fubuki in surprise.

"She…is really special," said Sycamore. "You should listen to her, hell, both sisters, and Secter far more often. Ahhhh, fuck…my chest." He clutched at the front of his suit, scratching at the bandages that adorned it.

"We have it under control," said Tatsumaki. "So Blast, you can kindly fuck off to wherever the hell you came from."

"You…" said Blast. "You…"

"I just want to rest," said Sycamore. "I don't want to hurt anyone, I don't want to destroy anything. Right now…I know all I can give you is my word, but that's all…that's all I can give you. It's all I have."

"And Tatsu, Fubuki, and I have no reason not to believe him," said Secter. "There's not much you guys can do here, we've got it under control."

Blast's eyes filled with rage, his fists clenching.

 _Sycamore is hurt,_ thought Blast. _Maybe I can take him?_

"Don't try it," said Secter. "Or I'll kick your ass."

Blast blinked his way out of his rage, turning over to Secter.

"Did…did you just-" said Blast.

"Yep," said Secter. "Now get the hell out. You and all your friends."

"Secter's the one who downed Sycamore," said Tatsumaki. "You mess with us, you mess with him."

"That's right," said Secter.

"Is that so…" said Metal Knight.

"Everyone, let's just…" said Mumen Rider. "I…I don't even know."

"No one was ready for this," said Accel. "But I can see that Sycamore is out of our league. If you guys have him controlled, then I'm leaving."

"The whole solar system…" said Garou. "Ridiculous…"

"I am sorry," said Sycamore. "I swear I wouldn't have hurt anyone, I was just frightened at the prospect of losing who I was to a big group all attacking me…though now I see I had my own flaws."

"Let Sycamore be," said Fubuki. "Just go home."

Murmuring amongst Mumen Rider and Blast's group. No one knew what to do. Blast stared forward at Sycamore, his eyes bursting with fear.

 _He is greater than I ever imagined,_ thought Blast. _They are beyond me._

"Getting tired of seeing your face Blast," said Tatsumaki. "Go away."

"Seriously, a lot of this mess was caused by you," said Secter. "There was no fucking reason at all to antagonize Sycamore."

"Secter," said Sycamore.

"And furthermore, you were an asshole to all my friends, and to Tatsu," said Secter. "The hell is your deal?"

"Secter," said Sycamore.

Secter turned to look down at Sycamore.

"Look," said Sycamore. He pointed in the direction behind Secter, his hand quivering.

"What is it?" asked Secter. He turned around.

Off in the distance, standing alone in the desert, stood a single Soulless. It grinned as Secter made eye contact.


	15. Chapter 15

The Soulless standing away from Secter wore little more than a tattered cloth over his torso, strings of white fabric hanging down past an equally torn-up pair of grey pants. Intrigue crackled along its eyes as it stared, a toothy grin just as wide as Sycamore's stretched across its face. Yet there was not a hint of kindness in its grin, only some kind of ill-placed joy, happiness taken from a dark well where it should never be drawn from. The Soulless was arched over as if examining a patient, its chin a ragged strip of pointed black spikes. Its arms were adorned with several elongated holes in the middle, creating a cratered and twisted trunk of an appendage on both sides. A sadistic curiosity radiated off of the Soulless, as if it were watching the group before waiting for the perfect time to strike. His face was more elongated than most Soulless, the evolution of a predator to ensnare more prey within its unsightly jaws. As Secter stared at the stranger, it opened its mouth to speak.

"Seems you were in the middle of something," said the Soulless. "My name is Silan, hello."

Secter's opened his mouth to speak, but he could find no words. There was too much shock hitting him all at once, surely he had to be seeing things, right? Surely there couldn't be a third Soulless to just appear here from out of nowhere? Behind him, Sycamore struggled to get up while the heroes bickered and fought, still unaware of the newcomer.

"You-" said Secter. "Who…how…"

Silan's tilted his head down, allowing his slanted, glowing eyes to become hidden and shadowed from the rays of the sun. Perhaps the light was just not where he was meant to be.

"My group and I have a real interest in this place, especially after that ruckus you made…" said Silan. "Thanks for bringing it to our attention! I'm so glad to meet."

"Where did you come from," said Sycamore. "Group! What group are you a part of?!"

Sycamore's raised voice caught the attention of Blast, who turned to see Silan standing off in the distance.

"Another!" yelled Blast. "There's another!"

Everyone in his group, Mumen Rider's group, as well as Tatsumaki and Fubuki turned over to Silan. Tatsumaki's heart nearly stopped, while Fubuki raised a hand to her mouth, terror overcoming her senses. Silan gave them a smile before staring down at Sycamore.

"You have the look of a man who doesn't want his own world to come here," said Silan. "Unfortunately, that's just not how it works. Your friends need to be taught just how life really is."

Silan looked over at Blast and flashed a noxious grin. Blast winced.

"And I'd say there's more than just one other," said Silan. "Everyone, it's our time to shine! Finally, after all these years, come and show the degenerates just how much you despise them! For taking you for granted! For getting to live their happy, blissful lives which they dare to call difficult, while you all suffered far beyond what they could even comprehend! Everyone, come on down!"

In an instant, three more Soulless appeared next to Silan, two on his left and the other on his right. Fifteen more teleported into existence, with seven surrounding Secter on one side and eight on the other. They stood in an n-shape around Secter and Sycamore, with everyone else standing away behind Sycamore near the city. Secter froze at the sight of the beings assembled before him. None of them looked friendly, all jumpy and snickering and hellbent on rushing at him and tearing him apart. Despite this, Secter did not take a single step back.

"This is Viskel," said Silan, gesturing to a jittering Soulless on his left with several dark ridged knife handles sticking out of his armored sides and back. "Our resident mad dog."

"The one and only!" said Viskel. He raised his chin to the heavens, the sun shining down on his crumbling silver armor. It coated him in cracked layers, his skin visible on his shoulders, parts of his chest, and in places on his upper back, giving him pockmarked look across what was supposed to be protecting him.

"And next to him, is Vastal," said Silan. "My right hand."

Unlike Viskel, Vastal wore a bulky suit of armor that encompassed his entire body and head, the armor opening up around the head area like the hood of a cobra, as if it were threatening to lurch forward and swallow everyone ahead whole. Vastal's head was covered by a spherical helmet with two dark slits from the top all the way down to the middle of the helm. Several dark yellow stains streamed down from various black crevices on the armor covering his arms, and Vastal grunted as his name was said.

"And of course, Greidhof," said Silan, twisting a gnarled arm to his right.

Greidhof wore slimmer armor than Vastal, the front sloping down into several shining silver V's as it pointed down towards his legs. Red fabric fluttered out from the cracks in his armor by his sides, and Greidhof's helmet resembled a cluster of hexagonal columns, two angry slits sliced into the middle section of the helm where Greidhof's eyes were.

"Steady everyone," said Greidhof. "Steady."

"And those are all who are truly worth mentioning," said Silan. He let out a laugh, humorless and harsh. "Yet, perhaps one day, others in my group will be worth a mention. Take a look!"

Secter kept one hand on his shotgun, his surroundings melting to encompass only those who stood in front of him. Each Soulless stared down at Secter as he surveyed him. For the most part, many of them were adorned with scars or bruises, one of whom was even missing an arm. None looked as if they had escaped the battles of their past, and none looked as if they had won. Secter's eyes settled on a peculiar Soulless who was wearing a white robe kept wrapped around its body. The robe was as pale as milk, and the being wore a mask over its face, a fleshy-colored visage of a man, little different than an all-too-realistic Halloween mask if it weren't for the shifting wrinkles, the stretched out grin that spread from ear to ear and the tufts of flowing hair that drifted over its face. The Soulless cocked its head at Secter as he eyed him.

"True Humanist," said Sycamore, his voice but a raspy whisper. "That's a True Humanist. These are bad people."

Secter scanned the right side of the group. Upon seeing another Soulless in particular, his mouth caught in his throat and his heart sped up as if it were going to break its way out of his chest.

One of the Soulless was completely drenched in a patchwork coat of human skin, layers of dripping and slimy sections of skin forming a casing over the Soulless's body and head. One glowing eye peered out from its hood, and as it blinked, a section of the coat fell to the ground, greyed and rotten.

Secter reeled back from the smell, hitting him like an oncoming freight train filled with dead fish. He raised one hand to his mouth before drawing it back to his gun behind him.

"True Humanist?" asked Silan. "Did that one say True Humanist?" He pointed down at Sycamore. "This one knows a bit, eh? Just as I thought…he has the look of a man who's seen things. But no, we tend to align more with the Supremacy, our True Humanist friend over here is just along for the ride."

Tatsumaki fell to her knees, her sister sidling over to her. It was a nightmare before them, it couldn't be real, it simply couldn't. A wave of vomit exploded into Tatsumaki's mouth, only the mightiest of swallows able to bring it back down. Groaning, Tatsumaki stood back up, her sister clenching the back of Tatsumaki's dress as Fubuki stood frozen in fear.

"What…do you want," asked Tatsumaki.

"You'll see," said Silan. "And…oh. Oh my."

He peered down at Fubuki and Tatsumaki, his eyes gleaming.

"They are different," said Silan. "They are interesting, I can tell. Yes, yes, I'll need to look into all of them…"

He turned towards the rest of the heroes, all of whom were too shocked to speak.

"And them…yes I can work with them," said Silan. "Yes, yes, this works just splendidly, it was easier to find interesting people than I thought it would be! These people…those two specifically, are perfect!"

"A plan!" said Viskel. He pumped his fist in front of him, lips peeling back to reveal a crooked grin. "We got one!"

"I'll get rid of some of them for now," said Silan. He waved his hand and by the end of his gesture, the rest of the heroes aside from Tatsumaki and Fubuki vanished. Secter and Sycamore felt a flare go off in their heads, but when they tried to stifle it, dozens of shadowy claws wrapped themselves around the mental image in their brains and blocked the light out.

 _They're nullifying us,_ thought Sycamore, shaking so hard that his ribs ached from his movements. _Nullifying our attempts to nullify Silan. We're outnumbered, we're doomed. We've lost._

"We'll see them later," said Silan. "Now, for you four-"

Secter ripped his shotgun from his back. His eyes burned straight ahead, wild with fury and hatred. Nothing could stand in his way now. These people looked ready to kill him, to harm everyone he loved. Secter leveled his shotgun, ready to charge. He'd fall if he had to.

"How romantic," said Silan. "A lone little Volunteer, trying to protect his helpless little friends. A stalwart against the forces of hatred, no matter how justified that hatred may be. Make my day, stranger. I would love to see you try it…" He noticed the look of sheer panic and terror Tatsumaki was giving Secter, pleading with her eyes for him to just take her and the rest and run. There could be no doubt in Silan's mind that she loved this man…it only made him shiver with ecstasy.

Silan turned toward the group of Soulless to his right.

"Three of you, take him down," said Silan.

"Oh shit!" said Viskel. "This man's good as dead!" He jumped up and down, giddy with excitement.

"Go my friends," said Silan. "For there is only one way." He thrust a finger to the sky, his arm crooked at chest level. "And that's _up_. This is our finest hour, we all strived and fought and _crawled_ through the bowels of hell to get here, and now this man is threatening everything you all worked so hard for! And he's a Volunteer as well, an outright traitor! He loves those humans, make him pay for it."

All of the Soulless in Silan's group returned the gesture into the sky, with Viskel rocketing his arm in the air to point the highest.

"There's only one way!" yelled Viskel. "He is God!"

"Shut it Viskel," snarled Greidhof as he pointed up. "No one wants to hear your shrill little voice."

"Fuck you, I'll do what I want," said Viskel as he crossed his arms.

"No!" yelled Tatsumaki, tears flowing from her eyes as she reached out to try and lift a section of earth with her power. "Leave us alone!" When the ground ahead of her showed no signs of moving, Tatsumaki started to shiver, her body shaking so hard that Fubuki had to steady her to keep her upright.

"Don't," said Fubuki. "I don't know who you guys are, but maybe we can-"

"Shut her up," said Silan, pointing at the espers. "We'll get to them later, but for now, they _watch_."

One of the Soulless in the group teleported behind Fubuki and Tatsumaki. In an instant, a black bar appeared to constrict itself around both of their mouths, and an invisible force like a thousand anchors dropped onto their shoulders to bring them both to their knees. Both Fubuki and Tatsumaki struggled to breathe through the gag over their mouths, with tears streaming down from Tatsumaki's eyes. Snickering, the Soulless teleported back to his group.

The three Soulless who had left the group to fight Secter stood a few arms-lengths away. Each one of them pulled out the handle to an elimination weapon and a few seconds later, three glowing machetes screamed into life. They taunted Secter by waving their blades around, twirling and spinning them like a deadly lightshow.

"Night night," said one of the Soulless.

Secter glared them down, his shotgun ready. To the Soulless's surprise, he charged first.

Secter pulled the trigger on his shotgun, watching as the first shocked Soulless's head burst apart as a yellow blast of energy tore through his skull. The second Soulless snarled and rammed into Secter, trying to ram his machete into Secter's chest. Secter headbutted the Soulless and knocked him back, following up with a shotgun blast through the torso to send the second Soulless down. The third had managed to sidle past his fallen friends and sliced his machete through Secter's side, before following up with a slash across Secter's cheek. Secter whipped around and jumped back, blasting into the target before he had a chance to charge him. That Soulless too fell to the ground.

"Next three," said Silan, amused at the wounds Secter had taken but disappointed with just how pathetic his minions' performances were. "From the left. Watch his gun."

Three more Soulless leapt forward, two of them having knives scream into existence while the third ripped out a pole with a gleaming cluster of spikes attached in a solid ball at the end from behind his back.

"Kill him," snarled one of the Soulless. "We reject the old breed! How could you support those disgusting creatures, have you forgotten the suffering you endured?"

"Only an idiot would pin their suffering on people they've never even met," muttered Secter as he started to turn. "Why do you hate those who've never had anything to do with you?!"

"He doesn't understand, he is lost!" said Viskel. "End him, he's human trash! Throw him out like the garbage he is!"

The two Soulless who had been shot in the chest earlier writhed on the ground, but Secter turned away from them to face his new threats. Secter knew by now there was no reasoning with these bastards. He focused everything he had into his aim, knowing that if he fell here, everything he loved could fall as well. The new attackers came running at him, faster than he expected.

Secter fired off his first blast, clipping the closest Soulless in the shoulder. The enemy winced, but barreled into Secter, knocking the two of them back. A second Soulless ran in from the side, screaming as he jabbed his knife into the base of Secter's neck. Even as the blade barreled through his skin and the blood began to flow, Secter knocked the first Soulless back with a vicious kick to the groin, tore himself free from the second with the knife still in his neck, and shot the second Soulless in the face to down him for good.

The third had hung back until now, deciding to charge in while Secter wasn't looking. He brought his mace smashing down onto Secter's shoulder, bones crunching inside Secter's body as the spikes made impact.

Tatsumaki screamed for Secter, her voice coming out as nothing but a muffled cry to the ears of no one but Fubuki and herself. Her hands clenching into fists and shaking as if they were freezing cold, Tatsumaki turned over to Sycamore, who was watching the fight continue while lying on his back. She glared at him, hatred building behind her gaze like a firestorm raging in the gloomy distance. Sycamore met her gaze and gasped, his own arms quivering as much as Tatsumaki's hands were. He pulled himself to his knees, wincing in pain and covering his stomach with his hands as he did so.

 _I…I should help,_ thought Sycamore. _He needs my help. They need my help. Oh God, I have to fucking help! Get up, come on, get up!_

Sycamore's legs refused to move even as he tried to pull himself to his feet, his entire body numb as Secter went to work on the remaining Soulless who were trying to kill him. Sycamore gave a quick look over to Fubuki, taking in her utterly terrified expression. If he didn't move now, didn't do something, then everyone he cared about would die. His vision clouded red as he turned back to the ensuing battle, his blood scalding hot with all the rage he could muster. Soon he started to feel less in the way of pain, and everything in the way of murderous drive.

 _Gun,_ he thought. _Find my gun. Can't do a lot just like this._

Secter's mind was ablaze as he ripped himself away from the mace Soulless, the being pulling his weapon out from Secter's crumpled shoulder and turning himself sideways for a massive swing. Secter fired at the mace Soulless and smiled as the blast blew through the Soulless's front, but the mace Soulless swung regardless, a sickening crunch sounding off in the air as the mace was smashed into Secter's ribs.

 _No!_ thought Tatsumaki. _Please God, stop this!_

Secter stumbled away but managed to fire again, this blast ending the mace Soulless as it ripped through his throat. The final Soulless, who had been reeling from the kick, had already made it to Secter again, his knife raised over his head as he threatening to bring it down into Secter's skull. Secter raised his arms to block the knife, grunting as it was torn through his forearm and out through the other side of his arm near his face. Secter's eyes widened with hatred at the sight of the blade poking near his eye and he thrust his body forward like a battering ram, the Soulless giving little ground as the two of them stumbled. Secter let go of the handle of his gun and dropped his arm to the side as the Soulless started to rip the knife along his arm. Screaming in rage, Secter pulled his arm back despite his shattered shoulder bursting with pain. His hand balled into a bloodied fist, Secter punched the Soulless in the gut, hard enough to have it cave inwards from the sheer force alone. Surprised, the Soulless stumbled back, his knife still embedded in Secter's arm as he lost his grip. A shocked glance was not enough to save him from the incoming elimination burst which tore the right side of his head to pieces. Secter spat at the fallen foe, before grabbing the knife in his arm, tearing it out with an arc of blood following the blade, and tossing it to the ground. He did the same with the knife in the base of his neck.

"Woah!" yelled Viskel. "This guy's damned good!"

"And the next…" said Silan. He stroked his jagged chin as he watched, his curiosity peaking like the points along the end of his face.

Secter glared up at Silan. Before him was the real enemy, the focus of all his hatred. Secter charged.

Three more Soulless beat him to the punch, one of whom was covered in a stinking heap of skin. He pulled out a metallic tool, grinning as a yellow spinning sawblade roared to life. Elsewhere, Sycamore winced at the sound, struggling to pick himself back up as he held his gun. That sound…that horrible sound! But it didn't matter, he couldn't let it get to him, he had to help!

"You are human," said the skin-Soulless, towering several feet over Secter. "You will do."

Secter leveled his shotgun. His eyes burned. Nothing else was on his mind aside from ending the threats, his hatred and rage narrowing his vision. Though he was bleeding profusely and his body felt like collapsing in on itself, Secter refused to fall. He wouldn't allow it.

The three new attackers rushed him, splitting off in different directions to force Secter to pick one target. One of the Soulless pulled out a spear with a glowing tip adorned with several spikes, while the other pulled out a yellow machete of crackling energy.

Secter rushed the machete man, catching him in the side as the other two descended upon him. Ducking, Secter grinned as the Soulless above him crashed into one another, but winced as the skin-Soulless reached down and caught him in the shoulder with his buzzsaw. Blood and bits of sinew sprayed from the impact point, Secter howling in pain as he shuddered away from the spinning blade. Stumbling, Secter's vision turned blurry as warm liquid continued to spill forth from his wounds, firing blindly at the dark shapes to the side of him. One of the enemies howled in pain and ran back, dropping his knife as his leg was ripped to shreds by an elimination blast. Secter stumbled back to the middle of the clearing just as the skin-Soulless ran towards his front and the spear-Soulless sprinted to his side. Secter dropped his shotgun out of exhaustion, and as he saw the spinning saw come towards him, he raised his arms. It wouldn't be the first time he'd stop a monster from hurting him by catching its weapon with his bare hands.

 _Just like the last one, from old times…_ thought Secter. To be honest, his mind was going numb from all the pain, and thinking straight had become an exercise in futility.

Secter was just in time to catch the skin-Soulless from driving his buzzsaw into his face, the spinning blades sending dust into Secter's eyes as he clasped onto the sides of tool. The other Soulless stalked around him, smirking all the way.

Secter held the sawblade at bay, his eyes widening as the skin-Soulless pushed him further and further back. Grunting, Secter stepped back just as the skin-Soulless ripped the saw downwards. Blood sprayed forth from where the saw tore through part of Secter's stomach, and for a moment, Secter almost blacked out. Then, a yellow stream tore through the skin-Soulless's head from up above, black and grey skin alike exploding with blood. The beam cascaded through the Soulless and into the air. Vastal sneered at how close it could've come to hitting Silan, yet his leader didn't seem to mind…

"Kill me," said the skin-Soulless, despite the fact his mouth was little more than a hanging strip of dripping flesh. "I don't care."

Sycamore obliged, blasting the skin-Soulless again through the head as he pulled the trigger on his gun. He stood further back near Fubuki, finally having collected himself and had been taking aim at Secter's attacker despite a shaky hand.

"Secter!" shrieked Sycamore. "Behind you!"

Groaning, Secter started to turn around when a spear was sent running down through the area next to his collarbone all the way down into the ground below. The spear embedded itself into the dirt, and laughter sounded off from right behind Secter's head. One hand running to the pole which had impaled him through his shoulder, Secter struggled to turn himself around when he heard a gun go off directly in front of him, a beam passing over his head. A few seconds later, something slumped to the ground.

Secter pulled his gaze up to spot Sycamore with his pistol raised. The spear-Soulless was missing half of his head, and collapsed to the ground, letting go of the handle of the spear in the process.

"Got you, you motherfucker," said Sycamore. "Secter, we can do this. We're already six down. We just have to kill that fucking bastard Silan!"

Sycamore dashed forward right at his friend, keeping one hand on his stomach while the other held the pistol level at shoulder height. Sycamore grunted as he grabbed the end of the spear over Secter's back, snarling as he pulled it upwards and out of the ground. Sycamore caught Secter as he stumbled back into him.

"You have to keep going," said Sycamore. "They need us now more than ever."

"I'm not stopping," said Secter, blood dripping from his mouth, drizzling from his stomach, pouring from his shoulder. He sounded like he was in another time, voice dull and detached, nothing left in the world but fighting for him.

 _They're not using powers, and they either don't have guns or aren't using them…_ thought Sycamore. _And why threes? Why not everyone? What kind of sick twisted bastard is this Silan?_

Sycamore glared up at Silan, who returned a gleeful expression.

 _Right,_ thought Sycamore. _Supremacist scum._

"More," said Silan. "You all keep doing this badly, I might just have to take care of them myself! Heh heh!"

Vastal turned to Silan, his hands clenched into fists.

"We could just shoot them," said Vastal. "We have guns. And some of those shots from them have come too close for my comfort."

"My troops shouldn't need guns in this scenario," said Silan. "And besides, do you really think a Soulless with the power of five won't be able to manipulate elimination rounds if I see them coming?" Silan grinned at Vastal, who honestly didn't know the answer to the question. Turning back to the rest of his followers, Silan continued: "You bastards, keep going! How have you not killed them yet? It's two of them against all of you! Take them down you imbeciles, take them down! Don't you want to prove your worth? Don't tell me we need to bring the rest of the group in here."

 _Power of five Soulless?!_ thought Sycamore. _And_ _there's more?! How fucking many are there?!_

This time five Soulless, including the one with the human-esque mask, jumped forward with their elimination weapons blazing. Three ran advanced Secter, while two crept over at Sycamore.

"Stay strong Secter," said Sycamore. "We have something to fight for, all they have is hatred. We can do this."

Secter's breathing grew labored as he reached down for his shotgun. His hands couldn't reach, too shaky, too much pain. Sycamore grimaced and lifted it up for him, letting Secter grasp onto it with grip weaker than a pair of tweezers. But then, Secter looked up at Tatsumaki, her pleading and teary gaze telling him to please live, please don't die on her, to keep fighting.

 _For you,_ thought Secter. _And everyone else. I'll die for you all._

"These Soulless just keep coming," muttered Secter to Sycamore. "They don't even care if they die."

"That's because they don't care about themselves," said Sycamore. "But we do. Let's show them the goddamned difference."

In truth Sycamore was shaking from terror, but he wasn't about to give up now. Fubuki was counting on him. He was all in.

Sycamore darted away from Secter as Secter turned and fired his first blast at the oncoming Soulless. Pulling his pistol up further, Sycamore fired at his own attackers, blasting hole after hole into his first target as his second adversary ran up from behind.

Secter had demolished the Soulless in front of him, but was only able to limp his way to his side, spear still stuck through his body as the mask-Soulless drove a long knife into Secter's bloodied stomach and the second Soulless stabbed a knife into Secter's back. Secter stumbled forward in pain as the mask-Soulless pushed his shotgun down, the fleshy visage inches from his face.

"Give up," said the mask-Soulless. "You have nothing to prove by fighting on."

Secter's hand tightened until his fingers went white. His eyes narrowed as the adrenaline forced the pain out of his system.

"I'll prove that you're not gonna hurt Tatsu or anyone else just because you want to," spat Secter. "I'll prove that you're nothing but a worthless, hateful piece of shit! I'll prove that there's a difference between us and you, and that difference is that we have something worth fighting for! That's what's going to end you!"

Secter ripped himself further forward from the adversary behind him, colliding into the mask-Soulless as the enemy in front of him ripped his knife out from Secter's torso and stabbed him again in the chest. Secter's fingers found the trigger and he fired, sending the mask-Soulless reeling as Secter flipped around to face the enemy behind him.

Meanwhile, Sycamore had killed the enemy in front of him, but was treated to a blade through the back as he tried to turn around. Screaming in pain, Sycamore ran forward to get away, but the adversary refused to let go, his knife digging into Sycamore's insides as he stumbled forward.

"Get…the fuck…off of me!" said Sycamore. He snapped his head back, his horns finding the enemy Soulless's face and bashing the target's features in. Groaning, the Soulless shook his head just in time for Sycamore's to ram him with his horns again. Sycamore repeatedly slammed the back of his head into the enemy's face, even as the foe twisted his knife deeper and deeper. Eventually the enemy relented due to the repeated bashings, letting go of his knife if only for a second.

Sycamore spun around, firing at the target and sending him back as the Soulless tore a hand down Sycamore's chest and ripped a bandage off of the old wound Secter had given him. Blood flowed from wounds both old and new, yet Sycamore would not relent as he fired and chased down his attacker. Though he didn't see her, Fubuki was watching with tears flowing from her eyes, silently praying that somehow, someway, the both of them would pull through and win. Tatsumaki was doing the same, but the sight of the horrendous multitude of Secter's gruesome injuries was crushing her spirit piece by piece. She wanted to scream, to do _something_ , anything at all, but again, she was helpless. So helpless. Tatsumaki sobbed.

Silan laughed. His entire game was working, both the fighters and the spectators being broken down little by little, injury after injury…

Secter's eyes were watering as he fired at the Soulless to his front, the blast ripping through the target's torso just as it pulled another knife from a belt it wore and threw it into Secter's stomach. The blade embedded itself into the oozing gash on Secter's torso, a flare of pain sending shockwaves all throughout Secter's body. Secter groaned as the Soulless tumbled to the ground, and he fired once more at the enemy to end him. He could feel himself slipping, the pain was getting to be too much, his monstrous drive was fading just as he felt his life begin to do the same…

Sycamore had finished off his adversary, his body shaking as he stood his ground. To his side, he heard Secter cough and he turned around to see blood shivering out from between Secter's lips as he steadied himself with one hand on the ground. He dropped his shotgun to his side, pulling his other hand to his stomach, now a horrific bloody mess of cuts and stab wounds. Sycamore took a step towards Secter, but a wave of pain stopped him dead in his tracks. Sycamore retched, but was much more concerned for the battered Secter than he was for himself.

"Woah," said Viskel. "The shotgun guy is good. Silan, you should send me after him!"

"No," said Silan. He stroked his chin as he stared at the two battered combatants, his eyes gleaming with utter joy.

"No powers," muttered Vastal from his helmet. "You had our people use no powers, and no guns. What is the point of this? Just end those two already."

"Vastal, Vastal, Vastal," said Silan. He laid a hand on the bulky Soulless's back. "You are usually so observant, yet here you don't _see._ "

"Ooh, the plan!" said Viskel. "Silan has a plan!"

"We've lost enough already due to your foolishness," said Greidhof. "End this Silan, before we run out of people."

"Greidhof, now is not your time to speak," said Silan. "And these people knew what they were signing up for, they knew that they had to prove themselves… And they knew they would have to fight should they want a better life." He peered down at the Soulless who were still writhing on the ground as well as the mask-Soulless, who was busy dragging himself away from the quivering Volunteer. Secter's mouth puffed up with blood as he steadied himself in place, but he began to rise again, swallowing. He raised his bloodshot eyes to meet Silan's.

"How curious…" said Silan. "I have not seen someone fight this hard since… Yes. Yes, they will do so nicely. Vastal, you are right. Finish them off, but let them live."

"About time," said Vastal.

Vastal marched down over to Secter, who reached for his shotgun as the hulking monster of a Soulless drew near. As Secter dragged his shotgun towards his body, Vastal reared back and sent a punch rocketing into Secter's chest. A cracking sound exploded into the air as Secter was flung back, tumbling onto his spine as the rear of his head hit the dirt. Secter groaned, his vision growing dark. The whole world grew out of focus and his breathing went shallow, his lungs burning with pain with every breath. Blood flowed warm out from Secter's mouth and stomach, his arms and back, and with every blink, Secter felt his eyelids growing heavier. Eventually he blinked just a bit too hard and did not open his eyes again. He was done.

As Vastal watched Secter hit the ground, he whipped over to Sycamore, who had turned to face him with pistol drawn.

"Fuck…off," said Sycamore. "I'm not letting you bastards ruin everything again."

"You've lost," said Vastal. "And you know it."

Sycamore fired at Vastal, the first shot colliding into Vastal's side and reflecting off into the sky. Wincing, Sycamore kept firing even as Vastal marched towards him. Vastal overtook Sycamore's vision, great hulk of a Soulless he was. As shadows were cast over Sycamore, he fired again, his second shot bouncing off Vastal's chest. He shot a third time, the round finding a thinner point in the armor near the collarbone and bursting through. It sent a spray of yellow blood rushing out from the impact point onto the dirt below. Vastal grunted and charged forward, tearing a glowing machete out from a sheath on the side of his leg and sending it plunging into Sycamore's gushing wound on his chest.

Sycamore gasped as the machete was stabbed way out through his back, and tears flowed from his eyes just in time for Vastal to rear back with his free arm and punch Sycamore in the side of the head. The blow was so hard that Sycamore's vision turned black, white flashes puncturing the darkness every couple of seconds like the shots from old cameras. He started to fall limp to the side. Pleased, Vastal ripped his machete out from Sycamore's torso. Sycamore plummeted to the ground, hyperventilating as he clutched at his chest with both hands. Vastal kicked Sycamore's pistol away from him, smiling as he watched it skid across the desert over towards Silan.

Fubuki screamed, yet was silent against the binding gag. Tatsumaki wilted in her spot, her eyes grey and heart darker than it had ever been in years.

 _No…_ thought Tatsumaki. _This has to be a nightmare, this has to be a dream, please, please don't take Secter away, please don't take him away, please don't, just leave us alone you fucking bastards! Leave us alone…_

"And there it is," said Silan. "Well done, Vastal. Though of course, you could've been a bit less rough with the Volunteer. Both are going to take some serious medical attention, what a drain on supplies..."

"Nice, nice, very nice," said Viskel to Vastal. "The strongest punch in the Milky Way everyone."

"Why not just let them die?" asked Greidhof. "And what now? Shall I command the troops to take the planet?"

"You will have patience," said Silan. "Especially since you have no troops, now don't you?"

Greidhof scowled from within his column-helmet. He scuffed one clawed foot along in the dirt as Viskel snickered at him.

"The rest of you," said Silan, gesturing to the remaining Soulless standing around. "Take those two fallen combatants and load them up. And more importantly, make sure they don't die…yet."

"Why…why let them live…" muttered Greidhof.

"Because I say so," said Silan. "Those sisters over there…they will hurt more if they know about the suffering of their friends over here after this, but knowing that they still live…this will drive them to keep going too. And _that is what excites me_."

"And our own?" asked Vastal.

"I leave those to you Vastal," said Silan. "You may take Greidhof and Viskel…if you wish."

Vastal cracked his neck from side to side.

"Fine," said Vastal.

He went to work, lifting several bleeding and moaning Soulless over his back while the rest of his group dragged Secter and Sycamore away from the area. Both Secter and Sycamore left a trail of blood as they were pulled unceremoniously along the ground. Eventually everyone but Silan dispersed from the area, and Silan grinned as he headed over to Fubuki and Tatsumaki.

Tatsumaki was staring down at the ground, her eyes gazing a million miles away and a vile stench rising up from the restraint around her mouth. Fubuki's face was paler than milk, her eyelids brimming with tears which continued to stream down her face. As Silan approached, Tatsumaki thrashed from side to side as if to try and break free from an invisible set of hands which constrained her. Yet it was to no avail, and she went back to staring down at the ground, her back shaking as she broke into a sob. Fubuki gave a devastated look over to her sister before turning to glare at Silan, a look which would make any sane person's blood run cold. Silan only grinned.

"There there Tatsumaki," said Silan. He reached over and patted her on the back, prompting Tatsumaki to glare up at him. Hatred burned through her eyes and her stomach turned and twisted as every muscle in her body tensed. If she could just break free of the force holding her, she would murder this Soulless, rip his body apart limb from limb, tear his skin off with psychic wind, twist the head off his neck…

"Your friends will be fine," said Silan. "We have some extraordinarily talented medics."

Tatsumaki continued to glare. The veins in the corners of her eyes grew dark.

Silan snapped his fingers and the restraints around both Fubuki and Tatsumaki's mouths vanished. Both let out a gasp as the black bars went away, with Tatsumaki's bar releasing a small flood of chunky orange liquid onto the ground out from her mouth.

"Not feeling so good?" asked Silan. "You must really like them."

"Why?" whispered Tatsumaki, her voice weak. "Why?"

"Well, we had to keep them under control, didn't we?" asked Silan. He chuckled. "Have no fear Tatsumaki. We can be rough around the edges, but we are no savages-"

"You almost killed my best friends," snarled Fubuki. "You're monsters. I'll kill you, I swear it."

"Is that so," chuckled Silan. "And my apologies for some of our group's…appearances, such as the skinned one. He claims to have taken the skins from corpses only, supposedly. But of course, I'm sure he has his own reasons for doing such a thing, we all have our tiny quirks-"

"Quirks?" asked Fubuki. She struggled against the invisible force holding her down, her hair swishing back and forth as she moved. "Fuck you! You are all a bunch of monsters, you almost killed our friends for no reason! You just kept sending out small groups to break Secter down! To torture us! You said you wanted us to _watch_!"

 _Perceptive little one,_ thought Silan. _Somehow Vastal didn't even understand that._

"I can assure you," said Silan. He walked over to Fubuki, dipping his head down until his face was inches above her skull. Sweat had formed a sheen over Fubuki's forehead, and she glared up at him. "We had a reason."

"Secter…" groaned Tatsumaki. "Bring him back."

"Not now," said Silan. "For now, we shall-"

A yellow speck crashed down from the sky, obliterating the ground beneath it as it landed in the desert not far from where Silan stood. Dust and sand sprayed the espers and Silan as Saitama rose from his landing point, Genos in his arms. Genos's eyes had gone black, his arms frozen stiff as they stretched themselves outwards to grasp at the sky. A thin blue sheen covered his legs and torso, and Saitama sighed as let Genos down to the dirt.

"Almost couldn't catch that thing," said Saitama. "Caught Genos as he was flying up to get it, but of course by then he was turning into a popsicle." He frowned as he surveyed the area, his eyes eventually settling on Silan. "So, what did I miss?"

"Saitama…" said Fubuki, her voice overflowing with joy. "You're back."

"Yeah, I guess I missed a lot," said Saitama. "Shit, this is my fault isn't it."

"Secter…" said Tatsumaki, her eyes glued to the ground. "Secter's gone."

"What?" asked Saitama. "What do you mean, gone?"

"They took him," said Tatsumaki, staring at the ground. Her face was dark as she spoke, overshadowed by curls of her hair drifting in the wind. "This monster, and his gang. And they hurt him, and Sycamore, bad. Secter and Sycamore fought for us…"

Saitama's narrowed his eyes at Silan, who grinned at him. His grin was that of a predator who specialized in tormenting its prey.

"Did you do this?" asked Saitama. "Did you hurt my friends?"

"Yes," said Silan.

"Ok," said Saitama. "I know what I gotta do. Genos, you stay back or whatever. Or…" Peering down at Genos, Saitama frowned as he noticed that Genos had not moved an inch. "Just do what you're doing, I suppose."

Turning back to Silan, Saitama raised an eyebrow as Silan pulled out a long grey staff out from his back and lifted it over to his front with both hands. Yellow streams of light flashed and glowed all along the weapon, ending in a series of jagged metal edges at the end. Saitama shook his head and reared back, one gloved hand clenching into a fist as he catapulted himself forward. Silan raised his weapon behind his head just as Saitama's fist was about to make contact with his torso.


	16. Final Chapter

Secter's eyes crept open and a wave of pain slammed into his body, forcing him to curl up into a ball against a wall behind him. Everything goddamned hurt, his shoulder stinging like it had been soaked in acid, his neck still oozing something warm, his chest covered in burning gashes that didn't feel like they had closed just yet, the tissue still shifting as he shivered in his spot. Nonetheless, he had to get up. Had to figure out where the hell he was. Tatsu. Find Tatsu. His body didn't matter, it could be expended like a discarded shotgun shell so long as it meant she and the others were safe. Pulling himself into a sitting position required tremendous effort, his vision flaring white from all the pain. He felt dozens of strips of rough fabric slide over his chest as he moved, and he looked around at the strange new place he was in, a dark and elongated rectangle of a room. Every few seconds the floor would shake as if it were being dragged over a field of rubble. Beside him Secter heard a groan, and he turned to see Sycamore slumped against a wall. His suit was ruined, stained yellow with blood and covered by a clump of soiled bandages. The back of his head was bleeding as well, and Sycamore rubbed at his face as he looked sleepily over at Secter. Glancing down at himself, Secter saw an assortment of bandages all cobbled over his various wounds, some of which were peeling off as they became drenched with blood. Secter winced as he sat further upright, planting both of his aching hands to the metal floor below him.

"Where…" groaned Secter. "Are we."

A few thin rays of white light peered out from three slits in the wall next to Secter, each slit covered in part by a sheet of metal that angled downwards like what one might find on the inside of an air conditioning unit. The slits were too high to look out of, being several feet above Secter's head, and standing sounded next to impossible right now.

"I don't know…" said Sycamore. "Ah God, my chest…"

"The two of you gonna live?" came a grizzled and harsh voice from across the room.

Secter froze in place, his attention focused to the far end of the room. From out of the darkness stepped a human, his eyes full of frustration.

The man's dark brown hair was short, messy, and dirty, his face the very definition of furious. Wrinkles creased along his forehead as he stared down at Secter and Sycamore, his arms crossed over a bloodied and torn grey shirt and an equally stained pair of jeans. There was a leathery, creased look to his face, like he had been beaten and worn by the tannery that was his life. He could've passed off for a man around forty as a human, though there was a kind of youthful fire in him that belonged to a person half that age. Anger beamed off of this man like sunlight off of a mirror, constantly flashing itself in the face of others. He didn't just look tall, but felt tall as well, a desire within him to intimidate anyone before him whether they were friendly or not. Every muscle in this man's body looked as if it hadn't seen rest in years, and the man knew it. He was ready to fight at any moment, and by the look in his eyes, death was a custom he knew by heart. Towering over the injured two, he sneered at them, already judging just who he believed them to be.

"Name's Koros," he said.

"You…did you heal us?" asked Sycamore.

"Fuck no," said Koros. "Those shit excuses for medics did that."

"You're a Volunteer…" said Sycamore.

"Soulless," said Koros. "Just like going in a human form whenever I get back to the universe."

"Back?" asked Secter. "What do you mean, back?"

"Well I hate to break it to you," said Koros. "But we're on a train buddy. Supremacy train. One way ticket back to the Nothing."

Secter's heart fell to his stomach. It churned and growled, threatening to expel whatever was left in his bowels out through his mouth. Groaning, Secter struggled to pull himself up, but the pain knocked him right back down.

 _Come on you idiot,_ thought Secter. _Get up! There's no fucking time to just sit here, I have to move!_

The self-inspiration was enough to help him push through the first wave of suffering as he pulled himself against the wall, but making it to the slits to his side was proving to be almost too much as he limped towards them. He stumbled and collapsed against the corner of the room, but by then he was close enough to the makeshift windows to take a look outside. His eyes went wide.

Outside, it was white. Nothing but white. The train shuddered as it flung itself along, and Secter let out a tiny gasp at the sight of what awaited him. This couldn't be. His heart started to pound in shock, nausea rampaging through his stomach. Upon seeing his expression and the bright light from outside, Sycamore's jaw dropped, so horrified that he could only find one word to describe how he felt.

"No," said Sycamore. "No, no, no, no, no, no."

"It…it's there," said Secter. He pointed a shaky finger at one of the slits on the wall before just barely managing to grasp the edge of one of the slits on the wall. "Oh God no. Oh God. Oh God." He forced a wave of burning vomit back down his throat.

"Cool it," said Koros. "We'll be fine. I've been caught by these assholes a few times before, and I always manage to escape their camps."

"Camps?" asked Secter. Tears were flowing down his face.

"Yeah, Supremacy is loosely organized," said Koros. "There's always the hardcore bastards within it who truly believe their bullshit, but most Soulless in the Supremacy are just looking to survive or go home. We get there, we talk to the right people, we smash some heads in, we find a way back. Honestly the toughest part is finding your way out of the Nothing, place is big and confusing as fuck, and of course it messes with your head so there's no sense of direction and no teleporting back-"

Secter launched himself off from the wall at Sycamore, finding his throat and clasping his hands around it. Squeezing tight, Secter's eyes went aflame with hatred as he tried to choke the life out of Sycamore.

"This is your fault!" yelled Secter. Spittle a few flicks of blood sprayed from his mouth down onto a terrified Sycamore. "Silan saw it, he saw what you did! Now Tatsu, now everybody's going to die! Because of you!"

Sycamore gasped and sputtered, grabbing at Secter's arms in a weak attempt to pull them away. He cried as Secter choked him. Tears flowed from Secter's eyes at the sight of it.

"Oi, knock it off," said Koros, little more than moderately confused. "Save your damned strength for one. And what's this about Silan seeing something?"

Secter turned back to Koros but kept his hands around Sycamore's throat. Nonetheless, he started to relax his grip over Sycamore. It was too damned much to see him start to cry like that.

"Sycamore used a power, did some sort of explosion," said Secter. "Made the world go white. I don't know, I was unconscious for most of it, but it brought Silan's attention to the planet we were on-"

"Did your planet have humans on it?" asked Koros.

"It…it did," said Secter. He loosened his grasp further on Sycamore's neck, doing little more than having his fingers brush against his skin now. Sycamore gasped in response, beyond relieved.

Koros laughed.

"Yeah, I'll bet Silan was fucking with you," said Koros. "That's what he does. He's a part of the Supremacy, and they've branched out of the Nothing lately. And they hate humans big time, along with other species. Trust me, they would've found your planet with or without your suit friend being a dumbass. Probably were already looking for a place like yours, hell, more than likely _already_ knew but just hadn't made it there yet."

"I'm sorry," said Sycamore, his voice a shrill whisper. "I'm sorry."

Secter let go of Sycamore's neck and slumped over backwards. His body was aching all over, the stress of attacking Sycamore sending more burning waves of pain radiating from his wounds. Secter raised a hand to his face, watching as tears flowed down into his palm.

"Tatsu…" moaned Secter. "Tatsu…please be ok…"

"Tatsu?" asked Koros.

"His lover," said Sycamore. "Lot…lot of good people on that planet."

"And…they're with Silan and his cronies," said Koros.

"They are," said Sycamore. "We tried to stop them, even killed a good number of them, but they…beat us."

"Ah," said Koros. He tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Well, I have good news and bad news."

Secter turned around, his vision blurred from the constant water streaming from his eyes.

"What?" asked Secter, his voice devoid of all hope. "What is it?"

"Silan will probably keep most of your friends alive," said Koros. "But Silan's a fucking bastard, worst of the worst. He likes to break people down, mold them into new people or some shit. Essentially manipulates and beats people until they either can't get up anymore, or until they become as hateful as his minions."

"Why?" asked Secter. "Why do he and his people do this?"

"Silan does it because he's a psycho who gets off on it," said Koros. "His people do this shit because they hate themselves or just don't care."

"Pathetic…" said Sycamore, his eyes wide. "It's all coming back to me, all those sad, horrible people out in the Nothing."

"They've lost it all," said Koros. "All trapped out there with no one but enemies around. But don't worry, I'll help you two through this. Could use your help myself honestly."

"We…we have to get out of here," said Secter. "Oh God…I can't go back to the Nothing. I need to get back to Tatsu, and Fubuki, and everyone else, they need our help…"

Sycamore sniffed and rubbed at his face.

"I…I don't know if I can do this," said Sycamore.

"Oh for the love of," said Koros. He ripped both his arms through the air until they were stretched out in front of him, palms facing each other. "We can get through this, alright? I've got a lot of experience with these fucks, you stick with me, and we'll make it out easy."

Neither Sycamore nor Secter would look at Koros. He snarled at them.

"At…at least we have each other," said Sycamore. "Alone…I'd kill myself here."

"Sycamore…" said Secter. "I'm sorry. For what I just did. You didn't deserve that, fuck, you even helped me fight those bastards. I'm sorry, I really am, I overreacted…"

"I didn't fight hard enough," said Sycamore. "We still lost. And now Fubuki, and Tatsumaki, and everyone else…"

"Calm yourselves," said Koros. "We'll figure this out."

"I'm sorry," said Secter. He planted his head in his hands. "I…it's just too much…"

Quiet enveloped the room as the beams of white flashed from the wall slits. Koros leaned back against the other end of the room as Secter crawled over to Sycamore to sit next to him. The train barreled forth, sleek and silver against the endless world of white that was the Nothing. Somewhere far beyond where train had come from, Secter imagined Tatsumaki calling out for him, calling his name and yet receiving no answer. He turned to call her name back, but beyond him was nothing but an uncaring void from which no sound would ever escape. Sobbing, Secter slumped back down in his seat as the train burrowed deeper into the place past the end of the universe.

. . .

Saitama's fist was inches from Silan, the shadowy alien grinning down at Saitama as he blasted towards him. Silan struck downwards just as Saitama's fist was about to reach his chest, the air ripping itself away from Silan as he swung. With a loud crack, Silan smashed his staff across Saitama's head.

Saitama was stopped in his tracks, falling to his knees on the dirt below. Blood rushed out from a gaping gash on his head. His eyes turned wide and full of shock. Something felt wrong, yet there was not enough time to comprehend. Did…did this asshole somehow land a blow on him? One that hurt him, no less. Was he dreaming?

Silan chuckled and turned over to Fubuki, whose face was frozen in horror.

"How," said Fubuki. "Saitama…"

"At least he tried," said Silan. "Certainly not the fight you always imagined you'd have, now is it?" Turning back to a stunned Saitama, Silan swung his staff upwards, catching Saitama in the chin. Saitama tumbled over backwards, collapsing down on top of the paralyzed body of Genos. He landed with a crunch as his body crumpled over Genos's. Silan laughed and whipped back over to Tatsumaki, who took a step back as he approached.

"You're going to need to take violence out of your vocabulary," said Silan.

Tatsumaki's hands were numb, each finger ice cold as she watched Silan approach her. She wanted to fight, wanted to fling the entire world at the Soulless before her, but no power would muster itself in her mind. Tatsumaki coughed, her stomach twisting itself into grumbling knots.

"Well, that takes care of all that," said Silan. His eyes grew dark as he looked towards Tatsumaki and he slung his staff over his back. "For as much hope as he provides you…do know the human spirit, strong as it may be, is not infallible. It can be misused for such terrible things, it can fall and be twisted…and besides, what makes humankind so special in a universe filled with beings all with drive? You're not special, not at all. Though…I certainly do enjoy seeing you all try and try, time and time again." He chuckled. "He'll be out for a little while. Now, Tatsumaki."

"Don't kill him," said Tatsumaki. "Please…just leave us alone." Desperation coated her voice like a thick layer of paint, impenetrable and suffocating.

Silan appeared next to Tatsumaki and wrapped a hand around her back. Yelping in surprise, Tatsumaki found herself being pushed forward away from her sister as Silan led her along on a forced march.

"You're in good hands now Tatsumaki," said Silan. "I imagine none of your friends will die."

"Get the hell off of me!" said Tatsumaki. She twisted and turned to escape his grasp, but Silan clenched the back of her shoulder blades, causing Tatsumaki to cry out in pain as she moved.

"No," said Silan. "It's time for you to listen." He leaned down close to Tatsumaki, his breath flowing over her face. She recoiled, pushing herself as far away as she could. It was not enough to escape his breath.

"Fuck off," said Tatsumaki, panic rising in her voice. "Why the hell are you here? Just leave! There's nothing for you here!"

"There's plenty," said Silan. "But the truth is, I want you all to relax. You're in good hands now, your friends we fought will be fine, and Saitama will be too. All will be well and good, and to be honest, I never wanted to kill your Soulless and Volunteer friends in the first place."

"Secter," said Tatsumaki. Tears started to flow from her eyes and her voice wavered. "And Sycamore. Those were their names, you fucking asshole."

"Ah," said Silan. "They will be gone for a bit, but I'm sure you'll see them soon."

"When?" asked Tatsumaki. "When?"

"Soon," said Silan. "Is Secter the one you're crying over?"

Tatsumaki gave a small nod. Silan released her, a warm smile replacing his grin.

"Ah yes, my mistake," said Silan. "I could see it in your eyes as we fought him, that it hurt you so much…for you see, we've all lost loved ones. Myself, Vastal and Viskel, and I'm sure Greidhof did too. But we're also bound by the violence we've been exposed to, and as a result, we tend to get a bit jumpy when we see guns…"

"You had a person with skin all over them," said Tatsumaki. "You're a bunch of psychopaths."

"Not so," said Silan. "We just provide haven for misunderstood souls. Now, all I want is for you to relax for the time being. None of your friends or loved ones will be killed, and honestly, there just isn't much you can do. So you might as well calm yourself, if nothing but for leading the rest of the people out there. I know you have it in you." He grinned at his last words.

"Lead them…" said Tatsumaki. "Lead them through what?"

"Through what's to come," said Silan. "But for now, I think we should all rest. Even me!" He chuckled. "I could use it, it's been a long journey."

Tatsumaki stared down at the ground. Drops of water fell from her face and splashed onto the dirt, forming tiny spots of darkened soil. She sniffed.

"Just…let me get back to my sister," said Tatsumaki. "Let me go back."

"Certainly," said Silan. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. Something I wanted to say."

"What?" asked Tatsumaki, looking back up at him.

"Go beat the shit out of your sister," said Silan. Any ounce of warmth that had once radiated from his expression was now gone, replaced by a joyous malice.

Tatsumaki's eyes went wide.

"What?" she asked.

"You heard me," said Silan. He leaned down over Tatsumaki, blocking out the sun with his shadowy body. Right above her face were his eyes, glowing and vicious. "She called us monsters a little while ago, and well, we just can't have that. So you're going to go discipline her, or else I'll start killing the other heroes. And if you tell Fubuki what's going on, the same will happen. Got it?"

"No," said Tatsumaki, her voice dry as sandpaper. "I won't. And you…you just said no one would die, and I called you monsters too! What the hell are you playing at?!"

"Alright," said Silan. "If you ignore me, then I suppose I'll just have to follow through with appropriate punishment."

Mumen Rider appeared to the side of Silan, his goggles and helmet missing and his eyes wild as he scrambled to get up from his knees. He gasped at his surroundings.

Silan cocked his head to the side and Mumen Rider dissipated into a cloud of black ash, floating away in the wind like dust in a sandstorm.

Tatsumaki's breath caught in her throat, forcing her to cough her life out. She collapsed to her knees, her stomach roiling as she fell. No, no, this couldn't be happening, it couldn't!

"That was your fault," said Silan. "Do you want to do another?"

"Please…" said Tatsumaki. "Please stop."

"Then go," said Silan. "Hurt your sister. And don't worry about her fighting back, I won't let her."

Tatsumaki crept back up, her posture zombie-like as she turned back around to her sister. Fubuki stood not far off, one hand covering her mouth in absolute horror.

"Sis…" said Fubuki. "Was that Mumen? Did he just kill Mumen?!"

"Better hurry Tatsumaki," said Silan. "If you don't move, I'll kill another."

"Please don't make me do this," said Tatsumaki. His voice was so weak that even Silan had to strain to hear. It only pleased him more.

"Sorry Tatsumaki," said Silan. His grin spread itself wide, joy leaking out from behind every tooth. "But sometimes in life, _you just lose_. Surely you know that by now, you just saw it…"

He strode away from Tatsumaki, chuckling as he came to a stop in front of the two espers a decent distance away.

Tatsumaki stood rooted to the spot, refusing to look up at her sister even as Fubuki questioned her.

"Sis!" yelled Fubuki. "What's going on?"

"He killed him," said Tatsumaki. Giving a tearful glance over to Silan, she gasped when she saw him opening and closing his hand as if crushing something between his fingers.

"Hurry it up," said Silan. " _Now_."

Tatsumaki gritted her teeth as she looked up at Fubuki. The confused look Fubuki gave her only made Tatsumaki clench her jaws harder, tears masking her vision.

"I'm sorry sis," said Tatsumaki. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" asked Fubuki. " _For what_?"

"I don't want this…" said Tatsumaki. "I don't…" She raised a hand, and a giant section of earth rose from the ground along with it. Floating above Fubuki's head, Fubuki turned to gaze at it, her shoulders falling.

Silan clasped his hands together at the sight of the floating earth, forming a gnarled cluster of fingers right across from his mouth.

 _Hit her,_ he thought. _Hit her, hit her, go on, do it now, before I kill another…_

Tatsumaki hesitated, the cluster of dirt and rocks flying high above Fubuki's head. Fubuki stared at the ground and started to move back.

"Sis?" asked Fubuki. "What are you doing?"

"I…" said Tatsumaki. "I'm so sorry." Her voice came out weak and thin, muffled by the sound of her sobbing.

 _Just like old times,_ thought Silan. He gasped with glee as the chunk of earth was sent smashing into Fubuki, sending her flying into the ground. Sand and bits of rock alike cascaded up into the air as Fubuki's body was shoved into the earth, blood streaming out from her mouth as she was half-buried in the boulder of dirt that Tatsumaki had sent after her. Tatsumaki let out a cry of pain and fell to her knees as Fubuki hit the ground. The ground underfoot scratched at Tatsumaki's skin as she clawed at her face.

Silan turned as he heard a series of approaching footsteps and gave a nod to a curious Viskel as he approached.

"Ooh," said Viskel. "What's going on?"

Silan looked back over at Tatsumaki.

"Go on, just a bit more," said Silan. "You know what to do."

Tatsumaki sniffed, wanting nothing more but to vomit again.

"Is this part of the plan?" asked Viskel.

"Of course, my dear Viskel," said Silan as he chuckled. "Of course."

"What is it?" asked Viskel. "What is it?" He eyed Tatsumaki up and down, tilting his head from side to side as he did so.

"It's simple, my dear Viskel," said Silan. His eyes began to gleam, the joy of a thousand winners in his gaze. "Those two, they are different than the rest. They will no doubt become the leaders of the entourage. Yet…they have old memories, these sisters. I want to poke at this, start to drag them back up. Surely, they will survive this little fight between them, but that's the point. That's what makes this so exciting. Is the fact that they will _survive_."

"I…think I get it?" asked Viskel. "I…don't get it."

Silan sighed, watching as Fubuki struggled to get to her feet. The sight of tears flowing from her eyes made him smile.

"This encounter," said Silan. "Will bring up their old ideas. Fubuki is powerless to stop her sister, and her sister will punish her for this. Certainly, the circumstances are different, but the idea is the same. All I need is for Tatsumaki to hurt her sister, and she will do so if I say. And once it is done, once Fubuki has been hurt, once Tatsumaki has actually done the deed to make her sister shed blood, then the idea is reimplanted. Of course, these two have a strong bond. And that's what excites me more. They will not abandon each other over this, oh no. They will survive for longer. But their relationship will always remember this day. They will go on, and I will be there for it every step of the way. Every day they resist…fulfills me more until finally…they break."

"You're the smartest man I know," said Viskel. "Man, I can't even comprehend this stuff."

Silan placed a hand on Viskel's head as Viskel leaned over. Turning, Silan spotted both Greidhof and Vastal approach from the side, a couple of other Soulless next to Greidhof.

"One day you will," said Silan. "And perhaps even learn the degree of power over others which I possess." Staring at Greidhof as he yelled at his companions to get a move on, Silan let out a soft exhale. "And not something I only pretend to have."

Tatsumaki lifted the section of earth over Fubuki, groaning as she stared down at the ground. Fubuki stumbled forward as she finally brought herself to her feet.

"Sis…" said Fubuki. "Please stop."

"I can't," said Tatsumaki. "I can't."

"Why," said Fubuki, rubbing at the blood that oozed out of her mouth. Her entire body ached from the force of the previous impact and she shook as she limped forward. "Why."

"I'm sorry," said Tatsumaki. "I…I can't…I don't know why..."

She thrust her hand down. As the new section of earth collapsed onto Fubuki, Tatsumaki tore her hands down her face. Her fingernails burned and stung as she ripped at her forehead, small amounts of blood collecting underneath her nails as she dragged them along.

 _Fuck you Silan,_ thought Tatsumaki. _Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you!_

Silan radiated joy as his body shook from laughter.

"That will do Tatsumaki, that will do," said Silan.

Tatsumaki glared up at him, blood and tears mixing down on the sides of her face.

"Why," she snarled. "Why did you make me do this."

"You listen to us now," said Silan. "You live with us."

"Fuck you," said Tatsumaki. "Fuck you!"

She got up and rushed over towards Fubuki, who was laying sprawled out on the ground just a few feet away. As Tatsumaki reached down to help Fubuki up, she was thrown back onto her spine, her body skidding along the dirt as she was forced to the same spot where she had started.

"No," said Silan. "Not today."

Tatsumaki stared up at the sky, her stomach roiling in pain. Getting up proved to be too much for her bowels, and she vomited onto the ground, groaning as the contents of her stomach splashed out in front of her.

Silan raised both of his arms to the sides. As he did so, a cathedral of grey steel and hexagonal columns rose behind him, an enormous building with four towers at each corner. Two flowing, massive black flags covered the two towers in the front as they rocketed off into the sky. In the center of each flag were the embroidered symbol of three white skeletal claws, all of them crushed together by a pointed white diamond. Around the cathedral grew a giant grey wall, consisting of dull metal columns stretching on for miles as it formed an enormous circle around the building. The final area was as large as a small town, with Silan and the main building in the center. Finally, a series of grey Quonset huts constructed themselves out of nothing, each one neatly lining themselves up into rows around the main building as they appeared from thin air. Two slim windows adorned each hut, one on each side.

"Our own society," said Silan. He chuckled as he lifted his hand off of Viskel's head. Beckoning to Vastal, Silan nodded as Vastal noticed the hand gesture and approached.

"Take those two, each to their own hut," said Silan. "Let them stew for a while. I will get the others in this place soon." He turned away from his companions, smirking as a series of poles erupted from the ground around a path towards the main building, each pole encrusted with several elongated speakers at the top. Silan headed towards the main building with Viskel in tow, his chin raised high as he moved.

Vastal looked over at Tatsumaki and Fubuki, grumbling as he approached. Greidhof shook his head at the three of them and left along with his companions to approach Saitama and Genos where they lay in the ground. Greidhof barked at his troops to pick them up, nodding as they obliged. With Saitama and Genos in tow, Griedhof and his followers walked back towards the main building after Silan. Vastal neared Tatsumaki, and she flinched as he towered over her.

"You," she said. "You're the one who hurt Secter."

"They all did," said Vastal. "Now get moving to a hut. I don't care which."

"No," said Tatsumaki. "No. I have to see my sister."

Vastal glanced back over to Fubuki, who had propped herself up on her hands as blood dripped from her face and mouth onto the ground. She retched, her body shuddering as her stomach tried its best to reject what she had eaten earlier that day. Looking back to Tatsumaki, he shook his head as she gave him a hateful albeit teary stare.

Vastal's helmet allowed no sign of an expression as he looked down on Tatsumaki, his hulking form creating a mountain of metal to block everything in front of her from sight. Tatsumaki rose to her feet and stepped over the mess she had made, watching Vastal follow her as she backstepped over to her sister. Tatsumaki froze as Vastal withdrew a machete from his belt, twitching as it screamed to life.

"Don't," said Tatsumaki. "Please don't, I'll go back-"

Tatsumaki's panic eased a bit when she saw Vastal slice through a section of the armor on his arm, adding another scar to his suit. As he dragged the blade through, yellow liquid streamed out from the new cut, covering him from the crook of his arm all the way to his palm. Grunting, Vastal slipped the machete back into its belt, the yellow energy crackling around it fading as the blade disappeared.

"Follow me," said Vastal. "And bring your sister if you want, I really don't give a fuck."

"Thank you," said Tatsumaki. "Thank you." Picking her sister up from the ground, Tatsumaki hugged her tight as Fubuki groaned. "I'm sorry sis, he made me do it, he said he'd kill people if I didn't, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"It hurts…" said Fubuki. "Everything…hurts."

"I'm sorry," said Tatsumaki. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok sis," said Fubuki. "You did…what you had to…" She let out a wet cough. Tatsumaki shuddered as blood erupted from her sister's mouth. "Where's…Saitama…"

Fubuki closed her eyes as pain overwhelmed her, letting out a soft moan every time her leg hit a rock or patch of grass as Tatsumaki pulled her along over her shoulder. Vastal followed them from behind, his eyes scanning behind them.

As the three of them neared a hut, Vastal reached over and yanked the door open before pushing Tatsumaki and Fubuki inside. The two of them fell to the steel ground inside as Vastal slammed the door behind them.

The inside of the hut was dark and empty, with not a single piece of furniture to be found. A few rays of dim light seeped through the windows nearby, illuminating little more than a couple of spots on the ground. Tatsumaki let Fubuki down and pulled her in close, crying as she felt Fubuki shiver against her.

"It's ok sis, it's over now," said Tatsumaki. "It's ok."

"I'm…going to fall asleep," said Fubuki. "Sis…we've got to get everyone out."

"We will," said Tatsumaki.

 _Secter…_ thought Tatsumaki. _Everyone…oh God, why did this have to happen? Why are they doing this? Why? Why does Silan hate us, why does he want us to suffer?_

Her tears stained the back of Fubuki's dress as she held her sister tight. She wished Secter were here, she prayed for him to be alright. But in the end, he was gone, and she could only sob harder as she hugged the only person she loved left in the world.

"We'll get through this sis," said Tatsumaki. "We'll beat them, we'll get through this. We'll get through this."

Her sister gave her no answer, her breathing turning quiet as she fell from consciousness. Laying herself and Fubuki down on the floor, Tatsumaki stared off into the darkness above, never finding the same calm as her sister.

"We'll beat them," whispered Tatsumaki. "Whatever it takes, we'll find a way."

. . .

 **Author's Note** : And on that grim and depressing ending we find ourselves introduced deeper into the world of the Soulless, to give greater context to all the Soulless and Volunteer characters thus far and to provide the biggest challenge to Secter and Tats as people yet. One can only hope they'll be able to resist the forces that desire them to change for the worse, to go back on all that they've learned to become awful people like Silan and company. Stay tuned within the next few months for part three of the Secter and Tats saga, the two of them have a long way to go… And thank you all for sticking with the story thus far, I sincerely appreciate it and hope you all have enjoyed! Until next time!


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